The Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday arrested a 32-year-old Malaysian woman hired by a drug-trafficking syndicate to smuggle cannabis via the local airport. The seized drugs have an estimated street value of 6.7 million patacas.
The operation was conducted in collaboration with the Macao Customs Service.
PJ spokesman Lei Chi Hou and Customs spokesman Cheang Mou Kei briefed reporters at the airport last night regarding the case.
Officers said the woman had been recruited by the syndicate to smuggle the cannabis from an unspecified Southeast Asian country to an unknown final destination via Macau.
Through intelligence analysis and risk assessment, Macau Customs officers identified the woman as a suspicious passenger on a flight arriving from Southeast Asia yesterday afternoon. Customs officers intercepted her as she retrieved her luggage, which contained 12 bags of cannabis weighing a total of 6.7 kilogrammes.
The Customs Service subsequently transferred the case to the Judiciary Police for further investigation, where tests confirmed the substance was cannabis.
Initial PJ investigations indicate that the woman was tasked with smuggling the drugs to a “neighbouring region” via Macau.
At the time of last night’s press briefing, police were still tracing the origin of the drugs and searching for potential accomplices. Investigators are also working to determine the final destination of the shipment and the amount the syndicate promised to pay the suspect upon successful delivery.
The suspect has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) for questioning on a drug-trafficking charge.
The PJ spokesman stressed that drug trafficking is a serious offence in Macau, carrying a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
Three Macau Customs Service officers show journalists the cannabis seized from the suspect and her suitcase during last night’s press briefing at the airport. – Photo: Maria Cheang Ut Meng
