Cooperation between Taiwanese and Japanese police has shut down a chemical factory in Japan allegedly producing amphetamine and led to the arrest of 10 people, including suspected members of Japanese organized crime groups.
The main figure in the case is Tsang Tien-pao (臧天寶), 61, who has Japanese-Taiwanese parentage, and is allegedly a member of the Inagawa-kai, the third-largest yakuza group in Japan, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Thursday last week.
Born in Kanagawa, Tsang joined the Inagawa-kai during his youth, the CIB added.
Photo: Chiu Chun-fu, Taipei Times
Background checks showed that Tsang spent four years in prison for running over and killing a pedestrian in 1998, and lost his Japanese residency. After his release, Tsang has mainly lived in Taiwan.
Tsang reportedly led the collaboration between Japanese and Taiwanese gangs, and he allegedly sent two chemists to Japan, surnamed Wu (吳) and Chen (陳), who have experience in manufacturing narcotics, to produce amphetamines, CIB investigators said.
Last year, Tsang linked up with a person surnamed Yamanouchi, who was a member of the Sumiyoshi-kai, Japan’s second-largest criminal gang, the investigators said.
Tsang and Yamanouchi allegedly led the Taiwanese chemists to set up a small factory in mountains near Matsuyama on Shikoku Island. They produced 2kg of amphetamine, and sold it via underground channels, with the proceeds split with the Sumiyoshi-kai, investigators said.
After receiving tip-offs, the CIB put Tsang and others under surveillance. As Wu took a trip to Shikoku in May, the bureau’s international division notified Japanese authorities.
A raid was carried out and 103g of amphetamines was seized, along with 60kg of ingredients, and Japanese authorities arrested Wu, Yamanouchi and their alleged accomplices. The CIB apprehended Tsang and Chen in June, and found material, including communications records at Tsang’s residence, the investigators said.
Japanese authorities conducted raids in July and apprehended five people suspected to be gang members, taking the arrests to 10, the investigators said.
The crime is subject to severe punishment under Japan’s anti-drug laws, therefore there has been an increase in its price in the underground market, it said.
In Japan, 1g of amphetamine has a street value of NT$20,000, the highest globally. The country’s laws mandate a life term and a ￥10 million (US$66,948) fine for suspects convicted of manufacturing amphetamines for profit.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS