A French man has been arrested for allegedly trafficking and selling drugs in Taiwan, investigators said on Monday.
Based on an informant’s tip, investigators caught the suspect handing a backpack to a Taiwanese man on Thursday last week that contained 1.5kg of heroin worth about NT$60 million (US$1.99 million), according to the Bureau of Investigation.
The bureau identified the Frenchman as Eric Jacobs, saying that he lives and teaches English in Thailand, and frequently travels around Southeast Asia.
Investigators confiscated the backpack when they arrested the Taiwanese man near the Taipei Railway Station that same day, the bureau said, adding that they then tracked down Jacobs and seized US$10,000 he had on his person that they suspect was payment for the drugs.
Both men have been handed over to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office and are being held in custody without bail after a court agreed to prosecutors’ request to detain them, the bureau said.
According to investigators, international drug trafficking rings have in recent years recruited more backpackers from Europe and the US to smuggle drugs into the country, taking advantage of the generally positive profiles people of those nationalities have with border control and customs units.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
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Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
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