Judicial authorities on Saturday warned the public not to try narcotic powder mixtures, as more than 60 deaths in the first half of this year were attributed to overdoses.
The announcement came in the wake of heavy sentences handed down on Wednesday by the Keelung District Court to three people convicted of selling mixtures of PMMA powder and manslaughter in connection with three fatal overdoses.
PMMA is similar to MDMA, or ecstasy, and can induce altered sensations, feelings of pleasure, increased energy and hallucinogenic effects.
Judges convicted Chen Yu-chieh (陳宇傑) and two friends, surnamed Wu (吳) and Liu (劉), for selling PMMA mixes near senior-high schools in Keelung, possession of illegal drugs, and manslaughter in connection with the overdose deaths of three students who died over a one-month period.
Chen and Liu were each sentenced to 25 years in prison, while Liu was sentenced to 19 years.
The judges said that they handed down the heavy sentences in a bid to deter other people from selling narcotics to youngsters.
Investigators told the court that questioning and testimony showed that the trio had known that the potency of their PMMA powders was too high.
In related news, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) on Friday announced that bilateral cooperation efforts with Thai authorities led to the break-up of an international smuggling operation that was importing cannabis to Taiwan by air.
The alleged mastermind is a 33-year-old man surnamed Lu (呂), Captain Chang Wei-lun (張瑋倫) of the CIB’s International Affairs Section said.
A shipment from Thailand was found to contain packages with 6.5kg of mainly cannabis flowers, estimated to have a street value of more than NT$10 million (US$350,619), he said.
The cannabis flowers had been wrapped in packages labelled as “Pu’er tea” from Yunnan Province, China, Chang said
Yu allegedly coordinated the purchasing and packaging with two Taiwanese in Thailand, he said.
CIB officers also arrested four other persons allegedly involved with Yu.
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