A Taiwanese man died yesterday after being shot by Indonesian police while fleeing in a car following a drug bust in Banten Province where 1,000kg of amphetamine was seized, the largest-ever amphetamine seizure in Indonesia.
Taiwanese police collaborated with Indonesian authorities in tracking down a group of smugglers on Anyer Beach that was transporting drugs from Kunming, China, Indonesian National Police spokesman Rikwanto said.
The amphetamine was disguised as 51 packages of pig feed, Rikwanto said.
Photo: EPA
Four Taiwanese who are allegedly part of the smuggling ring were identified as Lin Ming-hui, who was shot and killed, Chen Wei-chuan, Liao Guan-yu and Hsu Yun-li.
Chen and Liao were arrested during the raid, while Hsu was apprehended in the hours following the bust, Indonesian police said.
Lin, the supposed ringleader, escaped arrest, but was shot when fleeing and he died later in a local hospital, while another suspect suffered a leg injury, Rikwanto said.
Photo: EPA
“We caught them last night, but because one of them tried to escape he got shot and died. Two of them are now in our custody, while the fourth man managed to flee and we are now searching for him,” Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono said.
Hsu was later arrested in the Anyer area and was being questioned as at press time last night.
Taiwanese police also helped Indonesian authorities seize 1,700kg of cannabis in another raid, Rikwanto said.
The Associated Press said that foreigners are frequently arrested for trafficking narcotics into Bali and Indonesian authorities have stepped up their anti-drug campaign.
Under Indonesian law, Chen, Liao and Hsu are likely to receive death sentences if they are convicted of transporting narcotics.
Since last year, seven Taiwanese have been sentenced to death in Indonesia for amphetamine smuggling.
Three of them, surnamed Chen (陳), Wang (王) and Lo (羅), were convicted in January last year for smuggling 2kg of amphetamine.
The other four, surnamed Lee (李), Wu (吳), Hung (洪) and Shih (石), were convicted in August last year for smuggling 26kg of the drug.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the latest incident is the third time in the past few years that a Taiwanese has been killed by Indonesian police during an arrest.
The ministry is in the process of contacting the Indonesian Drug Enforcement Administration via the nation’s representative office and has reached out to the families of the Taiwanese involved in the raid.
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