2010-08-06 12:38

MACAO -- Macao's Public Security Police (PSP) arrested three men from China's Zhejiang province, who attempted to net some 300,000 patacas (US$37,500) by selling fake gold to buyers, the Macao Post Daily reported on Friday.

The PSP seized some 29 items of gold ornaments with a total weight of 1,716.62 grams on the trio, all surnamed Chao and aged between 29 and 41, the daily quoted a PSP spokesman as saying.

The three suspects arrived in Macao on Wednesday morning via Macao's Barrier Gate from Zhuhai, and attempted to sell fake gold necklaces to local jewelry shops later that day, according to the spokesman. They were arrested in front of a local post office the same day.

The spokesman also said that the suspects told the police that they believed the jewelry was genuinely solid gold, and insisted that they bought the items in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, cities on the Chinese mainland, last year, for 220,000 yuan (US$32,488).

The PSP were also looking into links with a recent spate of fake gold cases in Hong Kong, according to the spokesman.

The three suspects have been transferred to Macao's Public Prosecution for further investigation.