The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested four men for drug-related crimes on Friday, PJ spokesman Chao Teng Hin said during a regular press conference yesterday.
Chao identified two of them as key members of a drug-trafficking syndicate, aged 35 and 26, both surnamed Lu. Chao said that the other two are aged 33 and 32 respectively, surnamed Kang and Man. The quartet claimed to be unemployed.
According to Chao, in February, the Judiciary Police busted a case involving a mainland man who took drugs in a hotel guestroom in Macau. Subsequently, through a joint investigation with the Chinese mainland’s law enforcement authorities, Chao said, both police forces discovered a drug-trafficking syndicate operating from a base in Southeast Asia, adding that the syndicate directed mainland Chinese individuals to smuggle drugs from Southeast Asia to Macau and Zhuhai for sale, primarily targeting gamblers in Macau’s casinos.
According to Chao, the Judiciary Police launched an operation on Thursday.
That morning, the younger Lu, arrived in Macau on a flight from the Chinese mainland and immediately checked into a hotel in the city’s central district, Chao said, adding that in the afternoon, the older Lu arrived in Macau on a flight from Southeast Asia and joined the younger Lu. Both stayed in the guestroom.
Chao did not say whether the two Lus are related.
Later that day, Hong entered the same guestroom. At around 1:00 p.m. on Friday, the Judiciary Police took action, according to Chao.
PJ officers intercepted the trio in the guestroom and seized three packets of methamphetamine weighing a total of 26.76 grammes worth 80,000 patacas, 90 transparent plastic bags for dividing the drugs, and drug-taking paraphernalia including modified water bottles and tin foil, and 12,000 patacas in suspected drug proceeds, Chao said, adding that in a parallel operation, police intercepted Man, who was in Macau illegally, near another hotel in the central district.
According to Chao, the two Lus were the kingpins of a cross-border drug trafficking syndicate.
The drugs were smuggled to Macau from Southeast Asia by the elder Lu, Chao said, adding that with the exception of the older Lu, the urine tests of the other three suspects came back positive.
However, Chao also said that PJ officers indicated that the older Lu showed signs of drug use.
The quartet were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) recently, the spokesman said, adding that both Lus are facing charges of drug-trafficking, drug-taking, and possession of drug taking paraphernalia, while Kang and Man are facing drug-taking charges.
Meanwhile, Chao also said that mainland law enforcement authorities have recently arrested 21 lower-level members of the same syndicate.
This undated handout photo provided by the Judiciary Police yesterday shows evidence seized from the four drug suspects from the Chinese mainland.
