Macau Customs Service officers raided a parallel-trading den in the peninsula’s northern district on Friday where they seized 3,000 kilograms of frozen pork tripe worth around 110,000 patacas in total.
According to a statement on Saturday, the officers caught a 20-year-old man from the Chinese mainland who ran the den and hired parallel traders to smuggle frozen pork tripe and other goods from Macau to the mainland.
The statement also said that customs officers also nabbed another eight people involved in the case.
The owner of the den will be fined in compliance with the relevant provisions listed in the External Trade Law, the statement said. Moreover, the statement added, he violated the Food Safety Law as the supposedly frozen pork tripe was stored merely at room temperature, adding that the Customs Service has meanwhile transferred the case to the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) for follow-up action.
Meanwhile, the statement noted that the owner of the den and the eight other individuals were suspected of breaching the Law on the Employment of Non-Resident Workers as well as immigration and residency and stay permit regulations, adding that the Macau Customs Service has transferred the case to the Public Security Police (PSP) for follow-up.
This handout photo released by the Macau Customs Service on Saturday shows a pile of cartons containing supposedly frozen pork tripe stored at room temperature at a parallel trading den in the peninsula’s northern district on Friday.
