The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested a young Brazilian woman yesterday at the airport for smuggling 1.76 kilogrammes of cocaine into Macau at the behest of her boyfriend, PJ spokesman Tam Weng Keong said during a special press conference, adding that the police were still trying to find out the final destination of the drugs.

Tam identified the suspect as a 19-year-old named Ruana.

According to Tam, the Judiciary Police have been keeping a special watch on passengers arriving on “particular” night flights at the airport in Taipa. At 2:30 a.m. yesterday, PJ officers found Ruana, who had flown in from Thailand, acting suspiciously. PJ officers stopped her and found 1.76 kilogrammes of cocaine in her backpack.

According to Tam, the drugs were wrapped in carbon paper to make their discovery more difficult.

Tam said the cocaine has an estimated street value of 5.8 million patacas in Macau.

Ruana told the police that she had flown from Brazil to Thailand. On Wednesday in Thailand, Ruana’s boyfriend put the cocaine into her bag and told her to smuggle the cocaine into Macau and that she would be paid US$9,000 for the job, Tam said.

According to Tam, Ruana’s boyfriend told her that she would be given instructions on what she would need to do after she smuggled the drugs into Macau.

Tam said that the police were still looking for other suspects in the drug-smuggling operation and investigating where the drugs were produced and where their final destination was supposed to be.

Tam said that Ruana would be transferred to the Public Prosecution Office (MP) for possible arraignment on a charge of drug trafficking.

According to Macau’s anti-drug law, Ruana faces up to 15 years behind bars.

Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the hooded cocaine-smuggling suspect from Brazil to a PJ vehicle outside the PJ headquarters in Zape yesterday.

Items seized in the cocaine-smuggling case are displayed in a pressroom of the Judiciary Police (PJ) headquarters yesterday. Photos: Iong Tat Choi

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