A male drug mule from Sierra Leone in West Africa was caught at the local airport last Monday attempting to smuggle 1,005.48 grammes of cocaine, with an estimated street value of 3.313 million patacas, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokeswoman Lei Hon Nei said at a special press conference on Thursday.
The 42-year-old suspect surnamed Sillah was the fifth drug mule arrested this and last month according to Lei, who pointed out that the Judiciary Police believe that Macau was not the suspect’s final drug-trafficking destination.
The Judiciary Police arrested Sillah upon his arrival in Macau on a flight from Kuala Lumpur. Upon arrival here, an X-ray check at the airport discovered a large number of “goose egg-like objects” in his abdomen, Lei said, adding that Sillah later excreted 45 cocaine-filled pellets in the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre.
Under questioning, Sillah admitted that he had been hired by someone to swallow the drugs at a hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa, before taking a flight to Macau via Kuala Lumpur. Sillah told the police that he had been promised a payment of US$2,000 (16,800 patacas) and been told by his handlers to await further instructions after entering Macau.
Sillah was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) on Thursday, facing a drug-trafficking charge.
The Judiciary Police have separately arrested five drug mules at the local airport since last month, including a South African woman, a Brazilian man, a man from Uganda in East Africa, and a man from the South American Republic of Suriname.
The hooded male drug mule from Sierra Leone in West Africa is escorted by Judiciary Police (PJ) officers to a PJ vehicle parked outside the PJ headquarters in Zape after Thursday’s special press conference about his case. – Photo courtesy of TDM
