Judiciary Police (PJ) of Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) confirmed on Saturday that it had netted 2.4 kilograms of heroin at Macao International Airport, which officials estimated could fetch some 2.4 million patacas ( 300,000 U.S. dollars) on the street.
It was the largest smuggling case of this kind for Macao in 2011, according to PJ.
The suspected trafficker was a 19-year-old woman with a U.S. passport and the drugs were discovered during a regular luggage check at the airport.
A PJ spokesman said the suspect flew into Macao on a flight from Kuala Lumpur of Malaysia. Officers at the airport conducted a regular inspection on the woman's luggage and a sniffer dog also behaved in a way that indicated drugs were present.
On closer inspection, officers then found a total of 2,400 grams of heroin with a street value of 300, 000 U.S. dollars inside the luggage, according to PJ.
The suspect confessed to having received 2,500 U.S. dollars from an African in Malaysia for smuggling these drugs to Macao.
The suspect will be transferred to the public prosecution for further investigation and possible arraignment on charges of drug trafficking.