Customs officers cracked 73 smuggling cases in the past week, using high-tech body scanners at the Barrier Gate and Qingmao checkpoints.
The Macao Customs Service said that between last Saturday and Tuesday, officers seized 2,803 make-up products, 24 central processing units, 243 second-hand mobile phones and laptops, 12 smartwatches, 2.7 litres of spirits, 321 units of pharmaceutical drugs and injection medicines, two kilos of bird’s nest, 9.5 kilogrammes of dried sea cucumber, two dietary supplements, five skincare products and 18 bottles of perfume. Terahertz security body scanners assisted in five seizures.
In a separate operation conducted in conjunction with the Public Security Police (PSP), customs officers raided a parallel trading den in an industrial building in the northern district on Tuesday and seized around 500 kilos of frozen beef tripe.
Fourteen men and two women – the gang leader, an employee of the warehouse and 14 parallel traders – were arrested at the scene on Tuesday. Ten of the suspects are mainland non-resident workers (NRWs), while the remainder are local residents.
The 10 NRWs are suspected of violating employment regulations and have been transferred to the Labour Affairs Bureau for follow-up.
The gang leader and warehouse employee, as well as two people responsible for the warehouse, have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office, where they face charges of wrongful employment.
As the operators of the warehouse failed to show their business permit certificate, the case has been handed to the Financial Services Bureau for follow-up, The Macau Post Daily reported.
