Coast Guard special forces helped bust black-market oil traders in Kaohsiung last Friday by snorkeling in the ocean for nearly seven hours then ambushing the smugglers while on their fishing boats.
Kaohsiung prosecutors said a group led by suspect Chen Chih-hsien (
DISGUISES
With lookouts disguised as fishermen surrounding the port where the oil was unloaded onto modified trucks, police determined that the only way to catch the smugglers in the act was to lie in wait in the water.
The navy is typically responsible for special operations and this was the first time a coast guard team -- which had been trained by the marines -- was responsible for this kind of specialized mission.
Coast guard boats dropped the 40 divers in the ocean outside the port at 7pm.
CLOSE CALL
The mission was almost called off, however, when the smugglers began their work three hours later than expected at 2am.
Commanders had ordered the divers to come back, worrying they would be too exhausted to continue after so many hours in the water.
But the coast guard divers insisted they weren't willing to waste all that time and effort by calling off the mission.
At around 1am smugglers in rafts began scouring the area for police.
They failed to discover the divers because the teams had split up, diving below the surface to avoid detection.
After the fishing boats arrived and the teams had regrouped, they received orders to sneak into the harbor, where they stormed the boats at approximately 2am.
SUSPECTS
Thirty suspects were captured in total.
The two Chens, who were directing from the shore, fled the scene in separate cars. Police later captured Chen Li-chen in Kaohsiung's Fengshan City (
Investigators in Miaoli County uncovered the racket at the end of last year when they discovered that machinery used by a black-market gravel ring was running on boat oil.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
RSS