Investigators yesterday arrested an Indonesian man attempting to enter the country with five pistols.
Shih Tung-liang (施東亮), an official at the Kaohsiung branch of the Bureau of Investigation, told a press conference yesterday that an Indonesian man named Lutfirahman, a crew member on a commercial transport ship, attempted to enter Kaohsiung International Port with the pistols.
Investigators arrested him portside. The pistols were hidden in a sealed box.
Shih said that four of the pistols were advanced products made by Beretta Co, with a shooting range twice that of most regular sidearms. The other pistol was made in Israel.
The official said the Indonesian suspect told investigators a Taiwanese man in the Philippines had given him the weapons and told him to hand them over to another Taiwanese citizen after he entered Kaohsiung.
Shih said that the case suggests Taiwanese gangsters were attempting to procure more advanced weapons.
Lutfirahman was detained by the Kaohsiung District Court yesterday.
Meanwhile, police at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport late on Tuesday night seized two Taiwanese men carrying heroin packed into bags of Chinese tea.
Airport police said a suspect named Lin Shui-shu (林水樹) was commissioned by a smuggling ring to transport the drugs for NT$400,000 (US$12,070).
Another suspect, Chang Ching-nan (
Police seized a total of 7.1kg of heroin in the operation, with a market value of more than NT$70 million.
The Taoyuan District Court have detained Lin and Chang for questioning.
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