The Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday arrested two Hong Kong residents separately hired by a cross-border drug-trafficking gang to smuggle ice, the street name of methamphetamine, via the local airport, with the drugs seized from them having an estimated street value of three million patacas.
PJ spokesman Ho Wai Lok briefed reporters on site at the local airport yesterday evening about the case.
Ho underlined that the police were still investigating, such as trying to confirm the drugs’ source and intended destination, at the time of the press briefing as PJ officers had caught the duo just a few hours before announcing the case to the media.
The press conference was held at about 5:45 p.m.
Ho identified the two suspects as a 51-year-old man surnamed Wong, who told the police that he works as a chef, and a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chan, who told the police that she is jobless.
The duo were separately intercepted by the police at the local airport at around the same time shortly before midday yesterday. The police have preliminarily concluded that they did not know each other but were hired by the same gang, Ho said.
According to Ho, the Judiciary Police were recently tipped off that a cross-border drug-trafficking gang had hired some people to smuggle drugs from somewhere to a final destination via Macau. After an investigation, Ho said, PJ officers identified Wong and Chan as two drug smugglers hired by the gang, after which the police confirmed that the duo separately entered Macau from Hong Kong at around 10:15 a.m. yesterday via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB).
PJ officers put the duo under surveillance, seeing that after entering Macau, they separately headed to the airport. Shortly before midday, Ho said, PJ officers took action and intercepted the duo at the airport when they were about to leave Macau.
Ice worth 3 million patacas
The police seized 500 grammes of ice from each of them, Ho said, adding that the one kilogramme of ice seized from the duo in total had an estimated street value of three million patacas.
According to Ho, both admitted that they had been hired by a drug-trafficking gang to smuggle the ice via Macau. The police investigation showed that the two suspects had been promised HK$55,000 in total – provided they succeeded in smuggling the ice to the final destination, Ho said.
The duo will be transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) for further questioning, facing drug trafficking charges.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the hooded male drug-trafficking suspect to a PJ vehicle outside the airport in Taipa yesterday evening. – Photos: Maria Cheang Ut Meng
Two PJ officers show journalists evidence seized from the two drug-trafficking suspects during yesterday’s press briefing at the airport.
