Police yesterday said they have detained four suspects for questioning in connection with the discovery of a factory in Taoyuan where “narcotic coffee powder mix” packages were allegedly produced.
In raids conducted earlier this week, ketamine and Erimin, the brand name of the hypnotic nimetazepam, were found at the site, police said at a news briefing.
The seized drugs have an estimated street value of NT$150 million (US$4.92 million), police said.
The four suspects will face charges of breaching the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例), police added.
After receiving tip-offs, investigators surveilled two brothers surnamed Fang (方) who were allegedly selling the narcotic coffee powder mix and tracked them to the site in Taoyuan.
Along with the two brothers, one of their friends, a male surnamed Lin (林), and another man who was not identified were taken in.
The four were questioned and facing charges, said Chen Pei-te (陳培德), head of the Criminal Investigation Bureau’s (CIB) Third Investigation Corps.
“The Fang brothers allegedly owned the underground factory for packaging the narcotic coffee, and we found that they are likely active in the Taoyuan and Yilan County areas, with the intent to sell to young people,” Chen said. “Lin lives in Yilan and he was allegedly in constant communication with the brothers. We suspect Lin worked with them.”
CIB officials displayed the seized materials, including five computer-controlled packaging machines, scales, ketamine powder and nimetazepam pills, along with the finished pouches.
“This is one of the largest narcotic coffee powder packaging factories we have found in recent years. We suspect it is one of the main production sites that supply the demand for coffee powder mix in northern Taiwan,” Chen said.
“At the site, we found new machines that can package a maximum of 4,500 pouches per hour, which is a very rapid working rate,” he added.
Many of the pouches were made with designs and logos of Chrome Hearts, a trendy US brand of jewelry, personal accessories, shoes and fragrance, while others were packaged to resemble “Swiss Miss” hot cocoa pouches, and others in fruit candy kits, Chen said, adding that materials for packaging more than 300,000 pouches were also seized.
The Fang brothers denied the drug trafficking charges and were quoted as saying that all the seized substances and narcotic coffee pouches were for their own consumption and not meant for sale to others.
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