Prosecutors are seeking “severe punishments” for four people indicted on drug trafficking charges, including a former police officer, the Ciaotou District Prosecutors’ Office in Kaohsiung said in a statement yesterday.
In January, law enforcement officers, acting on a tip, seized 500kg of amphetamine and 1,000kg of ketamine hidden in two shipping containers in Kaohsiung, according to the statement.
One of the indicted is a former police officer in the Special Police Corps surnamed Wu (吳). The other three suspects, surnamed Lin (林), Wu (吳) and Chen (陳), were allegedly planning to smuggle the drugs from Vietnam and sought Wu’s help, the statement said.
Lin told Wu that they were planning on smuggling into Taiwan 1,000kg of raw materials used to manufacture drugs and allegedly promised him NT$10 million (US$326,584) if the scheme was a success.
The group’s first attempt to smuggle failed due to communication problems with Vietnam, prosecutors said, adding that on their second attempt, law enforcement seized the containers when they arrived in Kaohsiung and found the drugs.
Notified by Wu that their operation had been busted, the other three suspects fled, but were later arrested, prosecutors said.
Wu was indicted on charges of drug trafficking and taking bribes, while the remaining three men were charged with drug trafficking and bribery of a civil servant, prosecutors added.
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