Three Vietnamese men were arrested on Wednesday for drug trafficking involving 15.83 grammes of ice and one magu pill with an estimated street value of 53,000 patacas, PJ spokesman Ho Chan Nam said at a special press conference yesterday.
The three suspects comprise a 27-year-old non-resident worker surnamed Le who told the police that he works as a waiter, a 27-year-old jobless man surnamed Dang and a 28-year-old jobless man surnamed Mai.
According to Ho, the trio were members of a drug-trafficking gang of which Mai was the most “senior” and Le the most “junior” member.
Ho said that PJ officers were tipped off recently that a drug trafficking gang was active in the Avenida de Horta e Costa neighbourhood. PJ officers identified Le and put him under surveillance in the area on Wednesday. The officers intercepted Le at about 6 p.m. and found four packets of ice weighing 2.18 grammes on him. Afterwards, based on the information provided by Le, the officers arrested Dang and Mai later that day and found 4.2 grammes and 9.45 grammes of ice on them respectively. In addition, one magu pill and drug-taking paraphernalia were found in Dang’s home.
Under questioning, Le told the police that he sold packets containing 0.5 grammes of ice for 1,000 patacas to his Vietnamese friends and received 200 patacas for each pack he sold. Le said he had helped the gang sell drugs for about a month and got paid a total of 6,000 patacas, according to Ho.
Ho said Dang admitted to hiring Le to help sell drugs, but refused to reveal the source of the drugs, while Mai refused to cooperate with the police.
The trio underwent urine drug tests. Dang and Mai tested positive. The police believe that Mai provided the drugs for Le and Dang to sell, according to Ho.
The three suspects were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, each facing a drug trafficking charge, while Dang and Mai also face drug-taking charges. Moreover, Dang faces a charge of possession of drug-taking paraphernalia.
Magu is a narcotic consisting of methamphetamine (popularly known as “ice”) and caffeine.
The three hooded Vietnamese suspects are escorted by Judiciary Police (PJ) officers from the PJ headquarters in Zape to a vehicle yesterday. Photos: Iong Tat Choi
Evidence seized from the suspects such as packets of ice, 4 smartphones, drug-taking paraphernalia and a magu pill is displayed during yesterday’s special press conference about the case at the pressroom of the Judiciary Police (PJ) headquarters.
