Crime

Authorities bust 39 smuggling cases

A total of 39 cases of smuggling were detected by law enforcement at the Border Gate checkpoint and Qingmao port, with nearly 2,000 smuggled goods found.

Customs of Macao Special Administrative Region (SA) has strengthened inspection works at different checkpoints to combat smuggling. From August 3 to 5, a total of 2,051 people and 111 vehicles were inspected.

Among the 39 cases of smuggling found as a result, 35 were cases of items in luggage, three were items hidden on the body and one case was of items hidden in a car.

The intercepted goods included 1,281 makeup products, 476 computer processors,
54 game compact discs, 32 electronic game cards, four set of earphones, 110 mobile phones, two laptop computers and four other electronic products.

Additionally, 2.7kg of bird’s nests, 3kg of dried fish maw, 3.5kg of shark fin, 41 medicines, 144 eye drops, 20 medical supplies, 5.5 liters of alcohol and 200 cigarettes were detected.

After shops around border gate resumed operations, Customs suspected an upward trend in smuggling and dispatched staff to inspect the area.

In past three days, the SA has inspected 19 shops suspected of smuggling, with a total of 298 people investigated. 

As a result, one shop suspected of smuggling activities was raided, and 1,440 boxes of medicines were seized.

The SA said it will continue to focus on smuggling and urges people not to smuggle for profit, as this increases the risk of virus transmission and affects Covid-19 pandemic prevention outcomes in Macau.

Staff reporter

Categories Headlines Macau