The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said that it, in conjunction with other agencies, had seized a record 13.8 tonnes of narcotics so far this year, about 1.46 times the amount seized in last year.
Among the drug busts were seven major maritime smuggling cases and two container smuggling cases, which uncovered a combined 7,236kg of narcotics, the CGA told a news conference in Taichung.
Authorities also raided five drug manufacturing sites, yielding 2,042kg of drugs and 481 cannabis plants, the agency said.
Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
It also collaborated with foreign authorities through international information-sharing channels to intercept 4,147kg of drugs destined for Taiwan, the CGA said.
The authorities seized 9,441kg of narcotics last year.
The CGA highlighted four cases at the news conference, three of which involved illegal drug manufacturing sites, where finished and semi-finished narcotics valued at NT$400 million (US$12.67 million) on the black market were seized.
The seized drugs primarily consisted of ketamine, mephedrone and pseudoephedrine, the CGA said.
The drugs seized from the illicit manufacturing premises were enough to produce about 2 million doses and would have had “unthinkable” consequences for society if they had entered circulation, Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said.
Kuan praised the “seamless” collaboration by the CGA, prosecutors, police and customs authorities in cracking down on narcotics-related offenses and pledged to step up inspection efforts.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
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