Police raided an illegal cigarette factory in Changhua County on Friday, detaining one suspect and seizing 5 tonnes of tobacco, the Taoyuan Police Department said yesterday.
A total of 315 bundles of unfinished tobacco were seized, each weighing about 17kg, which could have been used to make about 3.15 million cigarettes, the city’s Jhongli Police Precinct said, adding that it could have had a market value of about NT$20 million (US$614,893).
The precinct said it formed a special task force with government agencies in Changhua, Nantou and Pingtung counties to investigate illegal tobacco cases.
Photo courtesy of the Taoyuan City Police Department via CNA
As a result, the cigarette factory in Changhua was uncovered and dismantled, precinct deputy head Kao Hai-yuan (高海源) said.
During the operation, a 35-year-old man surnamed Chiang (江) was arrested and cigarette-making machines were seized, he added.
A follow-up investigation would focus on identifying other people involved in the operation, Kao said.
The cigarette factory had been operating for about three months and mainly sold its products to migrant workers, he said.
Precinct head Lin Ting-tai (林鼎泰) said that a task force of more than 100 police officers was mobilized on Saturday and they conducted sweeps at 16 nightclubs, hostess bars and other entertainment venues on the four main roads in the district.
Over the past week, the precinct has solved 121 criminal cases (including 27 fraud cases), arrested 102 people and captured 41 wanted criminals, Lin said.
From April 9 to Tuesday last week, the precinct also cracked 21 fraud rings, arresting 119 suspects and detaining 14 people, he added.
The operation led to the confiscation of NT$11.82 million, he said.
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
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
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