Law enforcement officers in Taiwan and Vietnam have recently cooperated in breaking a cross-border drug trafficking ring, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said yesterday.
According to the bureau, a mastermind of the ring, identified as Liu Kuo-hsing, was arrested in Ho Chi Minh City by Vietnamese police authorities early this month.
Quoting Vietnamese sources, a bureau official said Liu had extensive connections with drug trafficking rings and dealers in Vietnam. "Vietnamese police have detained Liu for further questioning and they have agreed to repatriate him to Taiwan after they finish their questioning," said the official.
Acting on tips from international sources, local police managed to nab several drug traffickers from Vietnam earlier this month. Initial investigations show that the drug traffickers were commissioned by Liu to smuggle contraband narcotics into Taiwan.
In the past, drug trafficking rings used to smuggle illegal drugs from the Golden Triangle to Taiwan via Thailand and China. But, because police now monitor this trafficking channel closely, the bureau official said Liu's ring had moved its operation center to Vietnam in recent years and changed its transport route.
"The ring first secured narcotics in China's Yunan province and then transported the goods to Vietnam by land for airlifting to Taiwan via Hong Kong and Macau," the official explained, adding that the ring had commissioned Taiwan tourists to smuggle drugs into Taiwan in small installments by hiding them in specially designed footwear and suits.
The bureau's investigations show that the ring had used this new trafficking formula to smuggle drugs into Taiwan more than 10 times.
The official said Vietnam has apparently become a new springboard for Taiwan-destined drug trafficking.
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