Macau | Local police busts Kath shipment for its first time in history

Macau (MNA) – For the first time in its history, the Macau SAR Judiciary Police (PJ) has seized an amount of some 16.44 kilogrammes of Kath (catha edulis), an amphetamine-like stimulant, worth some MOP180,000, with the help of Chinese authorities, the police announced in a press conference on Monday.

In April, the PJ received a tip-off from the Zhuhai authorities about a suspected parcel that contained illegal drugs to be delivered to Macau all the way from Kenya, Africa.

The parcel travelled through the cities of Beijing, Guangzhou, Zhuhai and finally arrived in Macau on April 18.

Working with local postal officials, the police has successfully located the parcels and discovered a total of eight packages of Kath.

The PJ spokesperson explained today that “the packages of catha edulis would first go to a local delivery company from the post office, and then be delivered to another carrier company,” and that “all these illegal drugs would be repackaged into some kind of tea and finally sent back to Zhuhai for sale.”

The local police seized the illegal drugs at the carrier company and replaced it by real tea leaves before sending the package back to Zhuhai.

The Mainland authorities have then followed the trace of the package sent to Zhuhai and was capable of arresting two mainland Chinese there on May 11 when the two suspects showed up to collect the parcel.

Kath contains a chemical element called alkaloid cathinone, which can cause loss of appetite, excitement, and euphoria by stimulating the central nervous system. Long-term use of the substance can lead to addiction, with many countries having listed it as controlled substance.

China has busted several cases of kath in recent years. However, this was the first time the drug was to be found in Macau.

[Edited by Sheyla Zandonai]