Nine people have been arrested and more than NT$12.75 million (US$431,677) in counterfeit New Taiwan dollars were seized in raids on a suspected drug and counterfeiting ring, the Taipei City Police Department said yesterday.
The ring was headed by a man surnamed Ko (柯), a 55-year-old member of the Four Seas Gang (四海幫), and a man surnamed Lu (呂) — both of whom have prior convictions, the department’s Criminal Investigation Division told a news conference.
The investigation began in October last year after police received intelligence on a drug production and trafficking ring, said Shih Chun-hsing (施純興), supervisor of the division’s section two.
Photo copied by Liu Ching-ho, Taipei Times
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office authorized the launch of a special task force, which identified Ko and Lu as the alleged ringleaders, Shih said.
The people were arrested during coordinated raids in Taipei, New Taipei City and Hsinchu City, while police also discovered a drug repackaging site at a private residence, he said.
Five air guns, 76.38g of heroin, 154.87g of amphetamine, 14.56g of etomidate, 474.3g of propylene glycol, 1,162.8g of glycerol and NT$361,000 in cash were confiscated in the raids, he said.
Lu, who police said is known as the “counterfeit currency master,” served jail time in the 1990s for manufacturing older versions of NT dollar bills. He was released in 2020.
At Lu’s residence, officers confiscated 12,756 counterfeit NT$1,000 banknotes, along with 35 uncut counterfeit sheets, each containing four NT$1,000 bills, along with other materials used to produce fake paper currency.
Police urged people to be alert as it believes counterfeit notes are in circulation.
It released the following serial numbers that might have been used on the notes: RZ239907GM, PY288965HL, PW498068FL, TZ169260GQ, FL486439XJ, QW015231ET, QW672165AK, NX706635HK and TV208156DQ.
Anyone who encounters counterfeit currency should contact the police immediately, the department said.
The cases of all nine suspects have been transferred to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. They are suspected of contravening of the Penal Act of Offenses Against National Currency (妨害國幣懲治條例) and the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例).
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