Taiwan and the US collaborated in intercepting nearly 180 tonnes of kratom bound for the US earlier this year, officials told a news conference yesterday.
In April, the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the Customs Administration were alerted that container ships departing from Jakarta containing large amounts of kratom would stop at the Port of Kaohsiung before heading to Los Angeles and Miami.
Kratom, an herbal supplement that is often used for recreational purposes due to its opioid properties, is a Category 3 narcotic in Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
People caught manufacturing, transporting or selling a Category 3 narcotic face a jail sentence of at least seven years and can also be fined up to NT$10 million (US$313,136).
Although it is not regulated federally in the US, it is illegal in six states and several cities.
Prosecutor Yu Yen-chieh (尤彥傑) told the news conference that one of the containers unloaded at the port on April 4 contained 1,080 cartons of kratom.
After opening six more containers from Indonesia, customs officers found a total of 7,535 boxes of kratom, with an estimated street value of more than NT$36.3 billion, Yu said.
Officials called it the largest case involving drugs transiting Taiwan bound for the US.
Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said that he hoped Taiwan and the US could continue to enhance collaborations on combating cross-border drug trafficking.
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
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
RSS