A South African woman, who had swallowed 70 cocaine-filled pellets before flying to Macau, was arrested at the local airport last Monday, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Nam said during a special press conference on Friday.
According to Ho, the 48-year-old suspect, surnamed Zwayi, was detained at the airport for smuggling internally 821.23 grammes of cocaine worth about 2.71 million patacas.
Ho said that at 5 p.m. last Monday, PJ officers identified the suspect who flew to Macau via Singapore, upon arrival at the local airport and later discovered a number of “goose egg-like objects” in her body after an X-ray.
Under questioning, according to Ho, Zwayi admitted to swallowing dozens of the goose-egg-shaped pellets at the request of a male stranger in South Africa on October 7 before taking a flight to Macau via Singapore, claiming that she did not know that the items she swallowed were drugs and had no idea of the stranger’s next instructions. Zwayi, who said that she is jobless, told the police that she was promised to receive a “commission” of HK$10,500 after successfully smuggling the pellets to Macau.
Zwayi was taken to the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre to excrete the pellets, which were then confirmed to contain cocaine, Ho noted.
Ho said that Zwayi was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) on Friday, facing a drug-trafficking charge.
Evidence seized from the South African drug suspect such as 70 cocaine-filled pellets is displayed during Friday’s special press conference at the Judiciary Police (PJ) headquarters in Zape. – Photo: MPDG
