A man was arrested on March 10 for allegedly growing cannabis at his Chiayi City residence, while he and three others were also charged with selling the prohibited narcotic via social media, the Taipei City Police Department’s Songshan (松山) Precinct said in a statement released on Tuesday.
It said that 97 cannabis plants, 2,283.4g of cannabis products, 22 vape pens and gardening equipment were seized in a raid of the residence that was based on the monitoring of a social media group.
The seized material was worth about NT$10 million (US$313,794), the statement said.
Photo: CNA
The group was discovered by officers who are part of the “Operation Safe Home” drug prevention program, the statement said.
The precinct organized a joint taskforce with the New Taipei City Police Department’s Jhonghe (中和) Precinct and the Chiayi City Police Bureau, with the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office heading the investigation, the statement said.
The main suspect, a 33-year-old man surnamed Chen (陳), learned how to grow cannabis online, it said.
He traveled to Thailand, where cannabis is legal, to advance his planting skills, it said.
Chen packaged products and his wife — one of the other suspects — helped him sell them, it said, adding that they spread word via social media.
An initial tally showed that the four earned about NT$2 million from the operation, the statement said.
Chen told officers that he had made deals in Thailand and spent almost NT$2 million to procure a license to sell cannabis products in the southeast Asian country, the statement said.
Chen and the other three suspects were transferred to the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office for further investigation over alleged contraventions of the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例).
Chen was released on NT$150,000 bail and restricted from leaving the country, police said.
Another suspect was released on NT$20,000 bail, while the two others were released without bail, police said.
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