Taipei police on Wednesday last week made arrests linked to a drug ring in New Taipei City, the Taipei City Police Department said yesterday.
Thirteen people, six Taiwanese and seven foreigners, were detained, the department said.
The operation for more than a year sold heroin, amphetamines and other drugs to Indonesian migrant workers in New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang (新莊) and Shulin (樹林) districts, Criminal Investigation Division senior officer Tseng Yi-chun (曾逸群) said.
Police identified a 35-year-old Indonesian known as Susanti and her 27-year-old boyfriend surnamed Chen (陳) as the main figures in the operation, Tseng said.
To expand its customer base, the suspects initially provided narcotics to migrant workers for free, telling them that the substances would boost their energy levels or help them lose weight, Tseng said.
Once they became addicted, the suspects would charge high prices, he said.
If they could not afford the drugs, the suspects would make them deliver drugs in lieu of payment, he said.
Susanti came to Taiwan as a domestic worker three years ago, but ran away from her official place of employment after just three months, Tseng said.
She started the drugs operation with her boyfriend, Tseng said.
Raids were conducted after the National Immigration Agency was alerted to images of migrant workers taking drugs posted on Facebook, Tseng said.
The 13 suspects have been charged over breaches of the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例), while an investigation is ongoing to determine the source of the drugs and possible involvement of others associated with the couple, he said.
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