Agents from Taiwan and the Philippines jointly raided an underground drug factory in Manila on Thursday night, the Philippines' National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) told a press conference yesterday.
A 61-year-old Taiwanese man identified as Wu Tsu-chuan (吳子泉) and two Chinese men were arrested in the raid after being under surveillance since January, when the NBI received a tip-off from Taiwan, bureau investigators said.
It was the first successful operation of its kind between the two countries.
Apart from arresting the three men and seizing manufacturing equipment, agents from the two countries also confiscated 5.7kg of finished amphetamine, 36.2kg of liquefied amphetamine and 70 buckets of chemicals from the apartment the gang occupied in a Manila slum.
The seized drugs had a combined market value of NT$140 million (US$4.1 million), authorities said.
The three suspects who were taken into custody cannot be released on bail because they are suspected of producing dangerous narcotics and could face a life sentence if convicted.
In recent years, Taiwanese and Philippine judicial and investigative authorities have stepped up their cooperation in cracking down on cross-border crime because of their geographic proximity.
In March, the NBI dispatched a group of agents to study drug detection techniques in Taiwan.
Last year, the bureau also held Chinese-language courses for its drug investigation officers.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
RSS