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| The ecstacy pills inside the parcel accepted by Quejada were worth $300k |
A Filipina who was tempted by an offer of $5,000 in exchange for accepting a package for a “friend” nearly two years ago, was today (Jan 31) sentenced to seven years and 10 months in jail after pleading guilty to drug trafficking.
Defendant Maricris Quejada, 38, is a single mother of four who first came to Hong Kong in 2011 as a foreign domestic helper, then overstayed her visa. She was released on recognizance after filing a torture claim.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
In sentencing, Judge Susana D’Almada gave a discount
for Quejada’s guilty but added six months to the sentence because of her status
as a recognizance form holder, which puts her under a stricter code of behavior.
Judge D’Almada gave no credit to the defendant’s
effort to help the police track down the persons who had asked her to accept
the delivery of a parcel containing the party pill, “ecstacy” as no arrests
were made as a result.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
The judge also disregarded the defendant’s claim
that she had no knowledge that the parcel she had agreed to accept contained
drugs, saying she should have been alerted by the unusually high amount offered
her for the simple task.
Quejada pleaded guilty to the drug trafficking
charge at Eastern Court on Aug. 22 last year, saying she was tempted to accept a package for
a “friend” in May 2021, which turned out to contain about 1.9 kilos of ecstacy
tablets, in exchange for $5,000.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
The value of the drugs was estimated to be around
$310,000.
Drug
trafficking is a serious offence in Hong Kong, which carries a maximum penalty
of life imprisonment and up to $5 million in fines.
In
her statement to the police, Quejada said she was contacted through WhatsApp by
a man who gave his name as Emeca, and later introduced a woman called Megan who
he said was his girlfriend.'
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The
pair offered $5,000 to the unemployed former domestic worker if she would agree
to accept a parcel for their friend Jack.
Although
she found the offer suspicious, Quejada said she was tempted to agree to the
deal because of the big payment that was offered.
Unknown
to her, the parcel had already been intercepted and opened by customs officers
at the airport, as they found it suspicious.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
The
shipment from Germany listed to contain “materials for a wedding gown,” yielded
1,862 grams of tablets containing 531.6 grams of methylenedioxymethamphetamine,
a hallucinogenic substance found in the drug commonly known as “ecstacy”.
Quejada
was arrested after accepting the package, for which she had been authorized as
consignee by Megan.
Following
her arrest, Emeka and Megan disconnected the phone numbers they gave her.
Their
friend Jack, initially sent Quejada a message telling her where to take the
drug parcel, but stopped communicating after apparently being tipped off by the
two.
Customs reminds the
public to stay alert, and not take part in drug trafficking activities in
exchange for money. They must not agree to accept, carry or transact in illicit
goods on behalf of others; or to allow others to use their name or home address
for receiving mailed packages. Anyone may report any suspected drug trafficking
activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting
email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).
