The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested three Taiwanese separately last week for smuggling liquid cocaine weighing a total of 30 kilogrammes, with an estimated street value of 33 million patacas, PJ spokeswoman Lei Hon Nei said at two special press conferences on Thursday and Saturday.
In the case which was announced by Lei on Thursday, the Judiciary Police joined hands with their counterparts in Hong Kong. PJ officers arrested two Taiwanese – a man and a woman, aged 28 and 27, surnamed Fan and Lee, respectively, while Hong Kong police arrested a 23-year-old Malaysian man.
According to Lei, PJ officers arrested the Taiwanese duo on Tuesday when they were about the leave their guestroom in a hotel in Cotai, where the officers found eight bottles of “red wine”, Lei said, adding that the officers then took the duo to a shipping company in the city centre, where the officers seized another four bottles of “red wine”. Lei added that Hong Kong police arrested the Malaysian suspect at a guestroom of a hotel in Tsuen Wan district, where they seized four bottles of “red wine”.
Lei pointed out that the liquid cocaine seized from the Taiwanese duo can be converted into about 6 kilogrammes of solid cocaine after a drying and moistening process, with an estimated street value of 19.8 million patacas.
Under questioning, the duo denied committing the crime, insisting that they were merely helping a friend bring the “wine” from the US to Macau, adding that they had been promised a total payment of NT$200,000 (50,673 patacas).
In the second case which was announced on Saturday, the Judiciary Police arrested a Taiwanese man, aged 40, surnamed Chiu, at the local airport, for smuggling eight bottles of “red wine”, which can be converted into about 4 kilogrammes of solid cocaine worth 13.2 million patacas, Lei said.
Under questioning, Chiu admitted that he got to know a person through a friend in Taiwan, who later gave him NT$40,000 as travel expenses and asked him to travel from Taiwan to the US on November 28, where he collected the batch of “red wine” at a hotel before taking a flight back to Taiwan en route to Macau. Chiu told the police that he would have received NT$50,000 from his handler once he managed to smuggle the “wine” to Macau successfully.
Fan and Lee, and Chiu were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) on Thursday and Saturday respectively, where they face drug-trafficking charges, according to Lei.
Evidence seized from three Taiwanese drug suspects, including wine bottles containing liquid cocaine and luggage, is displayed during two special press conferences hosted by the Judiciary Police (PJ) on Thursday and Saturday respectively. – Photos courtesy of TDM
