The Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted five people for their roles in a ketamine production case, in which an estimated 100kg of the drug has entered the market.
The five were indicted for manufacturing Category 3 narcotics, as defined in the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例).
Prosecutors did not recommend specific sentences for the defendants, but asked the court to hand down “appropriate sentences” for two men surnamed Huang (黃) and Su (蘇), who they said played “key roles” in the operation.
Photo courtesy of the Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office
Huang, 28, received NT$100,000 from a drug syndicate and, following instructions, rented a corrugated metal warehouse in a remote area in Chiayi County’s Shuishang Township (水上) to serve as a drug production site, the indictment said.
Su, 31, was then brought in because of his expertise in producing ketamine, which he had learned in Cambodia, prosecutors said.
Su then recruited three other men to assist in the operation, they said.
On March 13, Huang drove the other four suspects to the production site, prosecutors said, adding that he was also responsible for supplying them with daily necessities.
After receiving reports of the drug production operation, the Taichung City Police Department and the Coast Guard Administration’s Yunlin Investigative Branch formed a joint task force and raided the warehouse on April 6.
During the operation, officers arrested the five suspects and seized evidence, including ketamine, semi-finished drugs, raw materials and drug manufacturing equipment, the indictment said.
Most of the drugs produced by the time of the raid had already entered the market, posing a serious threat to public safety, prosecutors said.
Huang initially denied any involvement, saying that he was unaware that Su was producing drugs, but he later confessed, they said.
Su refused to cooperate with authorities at the time of his arrest by withholding the password to his mobile phone, which allowed his accomplices to remotely delete messages on the device, hindering the investigation, prosecutors said.
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