Woman attempts to smuggle marijuana buds from Southeast Asia

A Hong Kong woman was arrested for smuggling 17.371 kilograms of marijuana buds wrapped in aluminum foil from Southeast Asia into Macau, with an estimated street value of about MOP17 million, concealed in her luggage.

The suspect was arrested by the Judiciary Police (PJ) on Saturday at approximately 10:30 a.m. upon arrival at the local airport, where the Macau Customs Service discovered the marijuana buds hidden in her luggage.

Police indicated that the suspect admitted to being recruited by a drug trafficking gang to smuggle narcotics from Southeast Asia into Macau but refused to disclose the amount of commission promised by the gang or provide further information about the syndicate.

At Saturday’s press briefing, police stated that the final destination of the drugs remains under investigation; however, based on similar past cases and the quantity of drugs seized, they did not rule out the possibility that the narcotics could be transshipped through Macau to other regions.

Two youths lose millions in fake ‘judicial’ scam

Two young residents reported losses after falling victim to a fake “public security and judicial” scam, police said. One victim lost HKD4.8 million after receiving calls last year from scammers posing as Macau immigration and Kunming police officials, demanding “bail” payments over alleged fraud cases. Transfers were made via Hong Kong and Macau accounts. Another victim lost HKD935,000 after similar calls requesting RMB600,000 in “guarantee” payments. YL