A local man and woman, along with a woman from the mainland, were arrested on Monday for possessing 5,400 pills containing ephedrine, according to Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Siu Keong, PJ Narcotics Division chief Lei Ka Wo, and customs supervisor U Chin Keong at a special press conference at the PJ headquarters yesterday.
Cheong identified the suspects as a 52-year-old mainland woman surnamed Li, and a 49-year-old local woman surnamed Lam who owns a trading firm in the northern district, along with her 31-year-old male employee surnamed Leng.
According to U, at 9 p.m. on Monday, customs officers at the Barrier Gate checkpoint intercepted Li when she was leaving Macau with her suitcase. They discovered 240 small packages containing a total of 1,800 unlabelled pills. Customs suspected that these were controlled substances and notified the Judiciary Police (PJ). It was later confirmed that the pills contain ephedrine, a key ingredient in methamphetamine production.
The police later that night raided Lam’s trading firm in the northern district and apprehended Lam and Leng. The police seized 660 small packages containing 3,600 pills, 28,000 patacas in cash and several undeclared goods. Under questioning, they admitted that the drugs were sent from Hong Kong to Macau, valued at HK$5,300, disguised as vitamins and weight loss drugs by Leng before being smuggled in batches into the mainland by Li and Lam.
The suspects were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing charges of possessing controlled substances for drug manufacturing, according to Cheong.
Cheong urged the public to avoid purchasing drugs through unofficial channels, be wary of offers of part-time jobs to transport unknown goods across border checkpoints, and to be aware that “weight loss pills” containing ephedrine may be linked to drug manufacturing crimes.
Packages of 5,400 pills disguised as vitamins and weight loss drugs, banknotes, and six mobile phones are displayed in a press room of the Judiciary Police (PJ) headquarters in Zape yesterday. – Photo: Ada Lei
