Drugs hidden in 49 tuna tins
The Judiciary Police (PJ) have arrested a 24-year-old Malaysian man hired by a drug-trafficking syndicate to smuggle heroin via the local airport. The seized drugs have an estimated street value of 4.18 million patacas.
The suspect, surnamed Muhammad, had been promised a total of 6,000 patacas by the gang on the condition that he successfully smuggled the heroin to its final destination.
The heroin was concealed inside 49 tuna tins found in his luggage.
PJ spokesman Ho Ka Weng announced details of the case during a special press conference at the PJ headquarters in Zape yesterday. The suspect told PJ officers that he works as a labourer.
Through intelligence analysis combined with risk assessment, PJ officers identified Muhammad as a suspicious passenger on a flight arriving in Macau from a Southeast Asian country last Saturday night. In cooperation with the Macau Customs Service and the Public Security Police (PSP), PJ officers intercepted him as he collected his luggage, which contained 49 packs of tuna spread and crackers.
None of the 49 tuna tins in the packs actually contained fish; instead, they were filled with a white powder suspected to be illicit drugs, which subsequent testing confirmed to be heroin. Including packaging, the seized heroin weighed a total of 2,987 grammes.
Under questioning, the Malaysian man admitted to the drug trafficking offence. Muhammad told the police that he had been introduced to the drug-trafficking syndicate by a friend.
He was initially instructed to smuggle the heroin to a “neighbouring region” via Macau. Upon successfully bringing the drugs into Macau, he was supposed to wait for further instructions from the gang regarding the next steps to reach the final destination.
Before arriving in Macau, his itinerary began in Malaysia and took him through two other Southeast Asian countries.
PJ officers were still tracing the origin of the heroin at the time of yesterday afternoon’s press conference.
The spokesman stated that the suspect was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) on Monday to face a drug trafficking charge. He has been remanded in custody.
The spokesman underlined that drug trafficking is a serious crime in Macau, pointing out that offenders face a prison term of up to 15 years.
The packs of tuna spread and crackers that contained heroin seized from the Malaysian’s suitcase are displayed at the pressroom of the Judiciary Police (PJ) headquarters yesterday. – Photo: Tony Wong
