MACAO - Macao police chief warned that the city had become a transit point for international drug trafficking, the Macao Daily Times reported on Wednesday.

The newspaper quoted Wong Sio Chak, Director of Judiciary Police (PJ), as saying that in spite of drug offence numbers remaining steady, the amount of illicit drugs seized at Macao International Airport and the rapid changes in the means of drug trafficking showed that "Macao has already become a transit point for international drug trafficking".

According to official figures, PJ handled 1,627 drug-related cases between 2000 and the end of March 2011. The majority of the seizures were heroin with a street value of $7.25 million.

The figures also indicated that 191 drug offences were detected last year alone, with most cases being drug trafficking. PJ also reported 191 arrests last year, the highest number of drug-related cases since 2001.

Speaking at the award ceremony of the 51st anniversary of the PJ Tuesday, Wong said that the situation deserves special concern and immediate countermeasures.

Macao's position as gateway to Chinese mainland along with the increasing number of budget airline flights, had already raised concerns that the region may be used as a transit point for drug trafficking. Early this year, PJ had acknowledged that there had been "an upward trend since the first ever case of drug smuggling by means of internal concealment was intercepted in Macao in 2006".

Thus, Wong said the PJ will reinforce inspection at various borders and be equipped with "advanced drug-detection devices".

Furthermore, Wong vowed to strengthen intelligence exchanges with other countries and regions to prevent and crack down on drug offences.