Law enforcement officials yesterday announced the arrest of four Taiwanese men suspected of working as “mules” to transport illegal drugs from abroad.
After receiving a tip-off, a police unit targeted the suspects, increasing surveillance at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and conducting a search of the airport late on Saturday and into the early morning hours of yesterday as the four suspects arrived home at 11:30pm on an inbound flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The airport operation netted a total of 9.216kg of ketamine, estimated to have a street value of about NT$3 million (US$100,026).
Photo: Yao Yue-hung, Taipei Times
The suspects, aged between 18 and 26, are surnamed Cheng (承), Huang (黃), Chang (張) and Ho (何), Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) Third Investigation Section squadron leader Chen Jung-piao (陳榮標) said.
The suspects were allegedly working as “mules,” with pouches containing the ketamine taped to their waists and thighs, Chen said.
After questioning the suspects, prosecutors intend to file charges against them in terms of the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例).
“The investigation indicated that Cheng was first recruited by a criminal organization to smuggle ketamine into Taiwan,” Chen said. “He then went around Internet cafes to recruit other young people, offering between NT$80,000 and NT$100,000 for one trip.”
All four were from the Hsinchu area, Chen said.
“Being only teenagers or about 20 years of age, they lacked the life experience to know that criminal involvement and drug trafficking are serious offenses,” Chen said.
“The suspects said they wanted to earn some money,” Chen said. “They were enticed into transporting the drugs by financial gain and the promise of an all-expenses paid trip to Malaysia.”
In another development yesterday, police in Tainan said they apprehended a 33-year-old man who was allegedly in possession of plastic pouches that contained powdered substances suspected to be drugs.
Test results showed that the pouches contained ketamine, amphetamine and chemical fertilizer ingredients, they said.
The man was allegedly involved in supplying and selling illegal drugs, the police said, adding that the arrest was made last week, but that the police had waited for the test results before announcing details of the case.
The suspect was found to have more than 100 small pouches, with each containing 0.5 grams each, they said, adding that the man allegedly sold the drugs in Tainan and southern Taiwan.
The test results showed that the suspect mainly used a low-cost agricultural fertilizer — potassium phosphate monobasic — to dilute the drugs and make higher profits, they added.
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