The overall crime rate in Macau rose slightly by 2.7 percent during the first quarter, or 85 cases more than the same period last year, according to official data release by the government.
Drug trafficking cases surged by an alarming 70.3 percent, which does not include the 55kg of cocaine that was seized earlier this month, which sets the city’s new record in drug seizure.
The Secretary for Security, Cheong Kuoc Va, announced the update of the crime statistics last Friday.
During a press conference he said that crime cases totaled 3,236 in the first 3 months of this year, representing a slight increase of 2.7 percent compared with the same period in 2012, resulting in the arrest of 1,112 people.
The Secretary for Security also said that among the 3,236 cases, those categorized under “violent crime” totaled 182, representing an increase of just one case in comparison with the same period last year.
Cheong argued that this number proves that Macau remains a safe city.
”The violent crime rate remained low…we see that the safety condition of Macau remains stable, “ said Cheong.
But the senario is completely different in regards to drug trafficking and selling, which totaled 63 cases in the first three months of this year.
The Secretary said it shows that Macau is being used as a trafficking hub and he promised to strengthen measures to combat drug related crimes.
“With internationalization, Macau has given visa exemption for most visitors, who can easily get visas right at the ferry terminal or at the airport. This facilitates the inflow of visitors, and the coming of more tourists from Southeast Asia. To combat trafficking, the police have contacted their counterparts in other countries or other regions in order to get more information,” he said.
“The sharing of information allows us to know how drugs are trafficked and we can identify the suspects when they enter the territory.” he also said quoted by The Macau Daily Times.
Cheong noted that the authorities have also invested in the purchase of equipment, such as, X-ray machines, which detect transport of drugs.
For the other categories, there are 1,961 cases of crime against property (theft and robbery), representing a growth of 7.5 per cent (136 + cases) compared to the same period last year.(macaunews)
