The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) today said it seized 718kg of drugs worth NT$1.5 billion (US$49.6 million) from a Cambodian fishing boat in the waters southwest of Taiwan earlier this month and handed over the Chinese captain and crew members for prosecution.
Officers spotted the foreign fishing boat YAMA68 in waters 128 nautical miles (237km) southwest of Pingtung County's Maobitou (貓鼻頭) on Sept. 13, CGA Tainan Investigation Branch Deputy Director Hsu Che-li (許哲理) said.
The boat was flying the Taiwan flag, but suspiciously did not have its identification system activated, Hsu said.
Photo: Wang Chun-chung, Taipei Times
Officers first ordered the boat to activate its identification system, but the boat fled and repeatedly evaded boarding, leading to a one-hour pursuit, he said, adding that they also noticed suspicious packages on deck.
Coast guard personnel eventually boarded the ship, took control of the captain and crew, and found 48 waterproof bags on board, all of which contained narcotics, Hsu said.
They found 10 bags of heroin weighing 209.3kg, 36 bags of marijuana weighing 472.39kg, one bag of methamphetamine weighing 18.2kg and one bag of nimetazepam weighing 18.3kg, he said.
After escorting the fishing boat back to port, the CGA reported the case to the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office for further investigation, he added.
A preliminary investigation found that the fishing boat is from Cambodia, while the captain, surnamed Sun (孫), and three crew members are Chinese.
Each was allegedly paid 80,000 to 100,000 yuan (US$11,246 to US$14,058) to transport the drugs from Cambodia.
The boat is suspected to be a mother ship for drug trafficking, which would redistribute the drugs to other ships, officials said.
The sources and distribution routes are still under investigation.
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