Macao’s Judiciary Police say they have successfully dismantled a significant drug trafficking operation, resulting in the largest-ever seizure of cannabis in the region.
According to Hong Kong newspaper AM730, two Malaysian nationals, aged 23 and 38, and a 33-year-old Hong Kong man, were arrested at Macao’s airport on suspicion of involvement in the smuggling operation.
The paper says that over 30 kilograms of marijuana buds, with an estimated street value exceeding 30 million patacas (about US$3.7 million), were confiscated. Investigators suspect Macao was being used as a transit hub for moving the drugs to Hong Kong.
The Judiciary Police say intelligence had been received that indicated a trafficking ring was orchestrating the movement of drugs from Thailand to Macao, via South Korea, with the ultimate goal of re-shipping drugs to Hong Kong.
[See more: Thailand plans to recriminalise recreational cannabis use amid health concerns]
The three suspects arrived on a flight from South Korea. Inside the luggage of the two Malaysian men, police allegedly discovered 56 vacuum-packed packages of marijuana contained within plastic bags. The Hong Kong man is suspected of being responsible for monitoring the two Malaysians.
According to law enforcement officials, the two Malaysian men were recruited by a drug trafficking syndicate and paid 10,000 Malaysian ringgit (about US$2,300) to smuggle the drugs. They are accused of picking up suitcases filled with marijuana buds in Thailand, then travelling with the Hong Kong man to South Korea before flying to Macao.
All three individuals have been transferred to the prosecutor’s office for further questioning, media reports say.
