Six suspects were arrested in what may be the largest arms smuggling bust ever in the country, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said yesterday.
Bureau officials displayed their haul of 181 guns and 22,685 rounds of ammunition in the lobby of its crime-fighting center in Kaohsiung.
Powerful submachine guns, rifles and expanding “dum dum” bullets were laid out, which made the center look like an arms depot.
PHOTO: CNA
Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞), the director-general of the National Police Agency, lauded the efforts and cooperation of police in several cities and counties. He also expressed his appreciation for the assistance given by Kaohsiung prosecutors.
Police were tipped off several months ago that the ring’s mastermind, surnamed Ting (丁), would use a fishing vessel, the Kaohsiung-registered Hung Hsin, to smuggle a large haul of arms into Taiwan from the Philippines.
The center and the Kaohsiung Harbor formed a task force to monitor the case, and when the ship sailed into Cijin (旗津), Kaohsiung, police raided the vessel and seized the arms hidden on board.
Two Taiwanese men who were guarding the stash and several Chinese fishermen on the ship were also taken into custody.
Ting was later arrested in Pingtung County's Ligang Township (里港 ).
Bureau officials said the seized weapons were standard models manufactured in Italy, Germany, Israel and the US, with some used by professional killers and secret agents.
Police spent the night counting and recording the large haul of arms.
One officer said he had never seen so many smuggled arms, which made “it look like they were supplied for free.”
Police said Ting has a lengthy criminal record and is suspected of collaborating with Philippine rebels to kidnap a Taiwanese businessman surnamed Liu (劉) in 2006 when the latter traveled to Manila for business. Police said Ting asked for a ransom of N$240 million (US$7.27 million) from Liu's family, but Liu later escaped.
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