A local man and a Filipino were arrested this week for buying and selling a newly classified type of drug commonly known as “K2” with police seizing a total of 7.39 grammes of the drug with an estimated street value of MOP 22,000 (US$2,800), Judiciary Police (PJ) Leng Kam Lon said during Thursday’s special press conference.
The local man surnamed Che is a 22-year-old drug user who bought the drug for his own use. He told the police that he works in the shroff of a car park collecting parking fees. The 26-year-old Filipino, a non-resident worker surnamed Madria, was arrested for drug trafficking and told the police he works as a sales assistant in a bakery.
According to Leng, it’s the first case busted by the local police involving a new type of synthetic cannabinoids known as K2. Leng said PJ officers had recently received a tip-off that a Filipino was selling K2 in night entertainment venues near the city centre.
PJ officers arrested Che on Tuesday in Avenida do Almirante Lacerda and seized from him a packet containing 0.77 grammes of K2. Che admitted that he is a drug user and said that K2 was many times more potent than traditional cannabis. He told the police that he bought the drug from Madria who was arrested on Wednesday night at his home in Rua da Praia do Manduco and seized three packets containing a total of 6.62 grammes of K2 from him. Madria refused to cooperate with the police.
Che and Madria were taken to the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre for drugs tests. While Che tested negative, Madria tested positive for drugs.
Leng said PJ officers are continuing to investigate the source of the drugs that Madria sold to Che. The duo were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) on Thursday. Che faces an illegal use of narcotic and psychotropic substances charge while Madria faces various drug-related charges, such as the illegal use of, and trafficking in, narcotic and psychotropic substances, according to Leng.
According to Leng, K2 is popular overseas. He said that a small amount had been discovered in Macao before, but it was not a prohibited item at that time. This is the first drug trafficking case detected by the police since eight types of synthetic cannabinoids were included on the government’s control list in October last year.
According to the US National Institute on Drug Abuse website, synthetic cannabinoids are human-made mind-altering chemicals that are either sprayed on dried, shredded plant material so they can be smoked or sold as liquids to be vaporised and inhaled in e-cigarettes and other devices. Apart from K2, they are also known as Spice and Black Mamba.
(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)
