Authorities have seized 264kg of marijuana on a fishing boat in Tainan, investigators said yesterday, adding that the haul has an estimated street value of NT$400 million (US$13.15 million).
Acting on a tip-off, the Coast Guard Administration, the Investigation Bureau and Tainan police and prosecutors launched a joint operation.
Police waited for the boat to dock at Tainan’s Anping Fishing Port (安平漁港) on Thursday morning and boarded the vessel, detaining the boat’s Taiwanese captain Hsia Chung-yi (夏忠益) and three Indonesian crew members.
Photo: Wang Chun-chung, Taipei Times
The vessel was registered in Penghu County under the name Cheng Yi.
Investigators found 519 pouches of cannabis wrapped in black plastic, Tainan prosecutor Kuo Wen-li (郭文俐) said.
Kuo said prosecutors petitioned the local district court to detain Hsia, because they need to question him to find out the origin and intended destination of the drugs.
“This is largest cannabis bust in recent years,” Kuo said. “We believe that Hsia was paid NT$1 million to transport the drug to Taiwan.”
A preliminary investigation found the cannabis came from China, but it likely originated in Southeast Asia, Kuo said.
“This is high-quality cannabis, made from budding flowers and tender leaves in the upper part of the plant. In this processed form it contains a higher concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol and users can get a stronger euphoric high,” prosecutor Chen Chien-hung (陳建弘) said.
“It would fetch much higher prices than regular cannabis, and is popular in nightclubs, where people in the entertainment industry often buy it. It is the drug of choice of wealthy Taiwanese,” Chen said.
Prosecutors said such a large seizure, particularly of such high quality, was rare.
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