Police arrested three local men on Thursday for drug trafficking by hiding cannabis in a book-shipping box that was delivered to Macao via the mainland.
Officers seized 1,661 grammes of cannabis with an estimated street value of MOP 1.66 million, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Leng Kam Lun said.
The three suspects are a 24-year-old air-conditioning repair worker surnamed Vong, a 25-year-old jobless man surnamed Chan, and a 57-year-old chef surnamed Wu.
According to Leng, the PJ were notified by the Zhuhai Public Security Bureau (PSB) last Monday that they were tracking a parcel believed to contain drugs which was being delivered from overseas to Macao via Guangxi.
Leng said the Zhuhai PSB and Customs, Guangxi Police Department, the local police as well as the Macao Customs Service jointly confirmed that the parcel would be delivered to a pick-up point near Patane district last week. PJ officers identified Vong and Chan as suspects and put them under surveillance.
According to Leng, the duo went by motorcycle to the pick-up point on Thursday. Vong collected the parcel from a self-service machine while Chan acted as the lookout. Officers immediately arrested the two men and seized cannabis weighing 668.43 grammes hidden inside a book shipping box in the parcel. PJ officers subsequently found two packets of cannabis weighing 517 grammes and 38 grammes as well as drug-taking paraphernalia at Chan’s home in Patane district.
Under questioning, Vong told the police that the trio had shared the cost of buying the drugs, while Chan was in charge of buying. They bought two kilos of cannabis on 28 July for MOP 140,000. The drugs were delivered by parcel to Macao via the mainland. They told the police that they had sold one kilo to Wu. PJ officers seized 437.63 grammes of cannabis and drug-taking paraphernalia at Wu’s home in Fai Chi Kei later that day. Wu told the police that he had resold packets of 10 grammes for MOP 8,000 to customers in night entertainment venues.
Leng said that both Chan and Wu were drug users and the Judiciary Police were continuing their investigation into the case to look for the source of the drugs, reported The Macau Post Daily.
The three suspects were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office on Friday, facing charges of trafficking in narcotics and psychotropic substances, while Chan and Wu also face possession of drug-taking paraphernalia charges, Leng said.
