The Judiciary Police apprehended a 68-year-old Russian male on Sunday, accusing him of attempting to smuggle 5 kilograms of heroin worth approximately 7 million patacas (US$878,000).
According to multiple media outlets, local authorities received intelligence about the suspect from law enforcement officials in Hong Kong and Thailand, and put him under surveillance after his arrival in Macao off a flight from Thailand last Thursday morning.
The man, an engineer by the surname Novorusov, later checked into a hotel in central Macao with a suitcase that authorities believed contained drugs.
He remained on the premises until Sunday morning, after which the police arrested him as he prepared to sail to Hong Kong via the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal.
“A large quantity of illicit drugs was found in the suspect’s luggage, hidden in biscuit and coffee packets,” Judiciary Police spokesperson Cheong Siu Keong said at a press conference yesterday.
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The man was later interrogated and reportedly told police that he had been paid by a crime syndicate to transport the heroin. However, he refused to reveal the source of the drugs or their ultimate destination.
The Russian has now been charged with trafficking narcotics and his case now handed over to the Public Prosecutions Office. If found guilty, the 68-year old could face a prison term of between 5 to 15 years.
The arrest comes in the wake of a drug bust that occurred last Tuesday, when three migrant workers from Indonesia were detained on suspicion of possessing and selling ice. The authorities uncovered almost 17 grams of the drug from their shared apartment.
“All three detainees refused to explain the source of the drugs,” Cheong said last Wednesday.
Official data shows that there were 236 people undergoing drug treatment in the SAR in the first six months of last year, with men accounting for 82 percent of cases.
