Mother and son arrested for smuggling narcotics by swallowing

The Judiciary Police (PJ) has arrested two people, a mother and son, caught smuggling drugs into Macau after swallowing them at home.

The mother is surnamed Apontecornejo, 53, and a self-reported businesswoman. Her son, Floresaponte, 22, is a self-reported motorcycle repairer. Both are Peruvian.

Police arrested them after their arrival at the Macau International Airport. The police also believed Macau was not the ultimate destination for the narcotics.

The police identified the two Peruvians during earlier investigations and were aware they would fly to Macau from Manila on Dec. 11.

The pair were intercepted upon arrival, and x-rays revealed the presence of foreign objects in their bodies.

The two were taken to the government hospital, where they were medically checked and excreted 54 condoms containing narcotics and an oval-shaped container holding more narcotics.

Subsequent inspections confirmed these to be 1,945.85 grams of cocaine, valued at approximately MOP5.38 million.

Further investigation revealed that on Dec. 8, the mother swallowed the oval-shaped container and three condoms and the son swallowed the rest. They headed to Spain the next day, before continuing to Hong Kong, Manila and Macau.

The two had no information about their next instructions.

The mother testified she had taken the assignment to repay her 20,000 Peruvian Sol’s worth of debt. Her son admitted to helping his mother with the debt repayment. They said they were given USD1,500 for the trip.

Earlier this month and late last month, the police intercepted several smuggling activities where drugs were camouflaged in various products, including bottled wines. The PJ also intercepted a case in collaboration with the Hong Kong Police Force.