A local truck driver has been arrested for smuggling methamphetamine from Hong Kong into Macau for personal consumption and sale.
Police seized 1.79 grams of the drug, worth about 5,300 patacas, from him at the local carpark of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) checkpoint, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokeswoman Leong Sok Man said during a regular press conference yesterday.
Leong said the suspect, surnamed Ho, aged 36, claimed to work as a truck driver.
Ho was intercepted while driving a car out of the HZMB car park on Wednesday after PJ officers received intelligence suggesting that someone was purchasing drugs in Hong Kong and bringing them into Macau.
Police officers found the suspected methamphetamine on him, and a urine test confirmed that he had consumed methamphetamine.
According to Leong, officers from the PJ’s Drug Crime Investigation Division analysed the information and identified Ho as a suspect. Police subsequently deployed officers to various border checkpoints and placed him under surveillance after he had entered Macau through the HZMB checkpoint.
Investigations revealed that Ho started buying methamphetamine in Hong Kong about two months ago for personal consumption and resale. He also has a previous record of drug-impaired driving.
Leong said police were still investigating the number of drug transactions, the identities of Ho’s customers, and what he had earned.
Leong added that the quantity of drugs seized exceeded the statutory threshold for drug consumption, resulting in an additional trafficking charge. Regarding the drug-impaired driving charge, Leong said Ho had started his vehicle and was driving when intercepted, while his urine test was positive for methamphetamine, indicating that he might have consumed the drug before driving.
Ho was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing charges of drug trafficking, drug consumption, and drug-impaired driving.
This undated handout photo provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday shows a packet of methamphetamine weighing 1.79 grams, valued at 5,300 patacas, and smartphones seized from the suspect.
