Drugs

Australian woman sentenced to 16 years in prison for smuggling drugs into Taiwan

suspect flanked by customs police
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

An Australian woman has been sentenced to a 16-year prison term for attempting to enter Taiwan with a large quantity of drugs in her luggage in December last year. Debbie Voulgaris, 57, was arrested at Taoyuan International Airport after customs and immigration officers found 3.8 kilograms of heroin, and 385 grams of cocaine, hidden in her luggage as she attempted to enter the country on December 10, 2023. According to evidence presented to the Taoyuan District Court, Voulgaris picked up

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Marijuana grow op busted: 780 plants in three locations in central Taiwan

Police officer among marijuana plants
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Taiwan criminal investigators busted a marijuana grow op, confiscating 780 plants and 65 kilograms of dried cannabis at three locations in central Taiwan, in what is described as a sophisticated operation producing A-grade quality marijuana. According to a press release, the Telecommunications Investigation Team of the Criminal Investigation Bureau began an investigation after a tip-off at the end of last year. Police tracked the movement and activities of a 34-year-old man named Tsai and three accomplices. On May 21, police

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Record 2.4 tons of drugs destroyed: marijuana use increasing in Taiwan says MOJ

armed guard in front of drug shipment
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau destroyed 2,445 kilograms of illicit drugs seized during investigations, and said that the amount of marijuana continues to increase. On May 10, officers from the Taipei City Police Department, New Taipei City Police Department, and National Highway Police Bureau guarded the route as heavily armed personnel from the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau flanked an armored truck borrowed from the Bank of Taiwan as it made its way from a secure warehouse to the

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Australian woman charged after airport customs finds large quantity of heroin in suitcase

handcuffed suspect led by police
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A 60-year-old Australian woman has been charged for attempting to smuggle nearly 7 kilograms of heroin into Taiwan via Taoyuan International Airport. Taiwan’s Aviation Police Bureau announced today that the woman was arrested at Taoyuan International Airport in December 2023 when customs officers found a package containing 6.926 kilograms of heroin in her suitcase. According to the police press release, customs officers spotted abnormalities in the suitcase during an X-ray inspection of inbound luggage. Customs officers waited until the woman

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Drug syndicate disguises drug mules as monks: Fake monks arrested at airports in Taiwan and Japan

monks costume and drugs as evidence in drug smuggling investigation
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A transnational drug trafficking group disguised drug smugglers as monks in an attempt to thwart airport security, but two of the fake monks have been arrested at airports in Taiwan and Japan. According to an investigation by the Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office, a 25-year-old Taiwanese man named Liu Jingting was recruited by a drug syndicate to smuggle ketamine from Cambodia to Taiwan in September 2023. Liu Jingting was accompanied by two members of the group, Xu and Gao, who acted

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Biggest amphetamine smuggling bust in Taiwan history: 1.4 ton drug haul intercepted at Port of Kaohsiung

shipment of amphetamines at Port of Kaohsiung
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , , ,

Eight people have been arrested in connection with a 1.4 ton haul of amphetamine and ketamine intercepted at the Port of Kaohsiung in what police described as the biggest amphetamine smuggling operation bust in Taiwan’s history. According to information released at a press briefing yesterday, November 15, the Criminal Investigation Bureau received intelligence in February this year that drug traffickers were planning to smuggle a large quantity of drugs using cargo ships berthing at the Port of Kaohsiung. After long-term

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Police seize biggest haul of domestically manufactured meth in Taiwan history

police swat team raids illicit drug factory
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau conducted a two-year-long investigation, culminating in a raid on a drug manufacturing facility in Nantou County that netted the largest single haul of domestically-produced methamphetamine in the country’s history. The investigation was instigated by the Pingtung District Prosecutor’s Office, and involved the joint efforts of a team from Taichung City, Changhua City, and Kaohsiung City police departments. According to the investigation, a 32-year-old man, named Lee, financed the operation. Lee employed a 30-year-old man, named Lu,

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Amphetamine factory raided in Kaohsiung City

police raid drug making operation in Kaohsiung City
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Police arrested three people after raiding a large-scale amphetamine manufacturing operation in Kaohsiung City that contained enough drug material to make an estimated NT$56 million worth of methamphetamine. According to reports in United Daily News, and Liberty Times, police began an investigation after a tip-off and found that a man, named Zhang rented a shed in an isolated area beside the Qieyu Wetland Park in January this year. Zhang and two other suspects are alleged to have purchased 200,000 cold

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456 KG: Biggest marijuana smuggling bust in Taiwan’s history

cannabis haul on display
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

Police and customs officials intercepted a 456 kilogram haul of marijuana hidden in a shipment of wood pellets imported from Canada earlier this year, it was revealed at a press conference today, following a 6-month-long investigation, and the arrest of six men suspect to be involved in the operation. Officers of the National Police Agency Third Special Police Corps in cooperation with the Keelung Customs Bureau and Bali Customs Inspection Station inspected a shipment of multi-purpose wood pellets imported from

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Breaking Bad: chemistry prof used university lab, students, to operate “one-stop test shop” for Taiwanese drug syndicate

Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

An assistant professor and post-doctoral researcher has been prosecuted for using a university chemistry laboratory with advanced equipment, and having students unknowingly assist in testing imported and locally manufactured illicit drugs for purity, on behalf of a Taiwanese narcotrafficker. Zhang Enming (張恩銘), 44, was charged by the Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office for manufacturing category 3 drugs and other crimes following an investigation into a drug manufacturing operation uncovered in Yilan County in early 2021. According to reports, Zhang, a former

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Driver high on laughing gas leads police on slow-speed chase in Taoyuan City

composite image showing laughing gas, nitrous oxide cylinder and car being driven on sidewalk
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

A man who was seen inhaling laughing gas while driving refused to stop, and led police on a chase in Taoyuan City yesterday, February 19. Taoyuan City Police Department received a report at 2:50 pm that a man was seen sucking on a balloon, and suspected to be inhaling laughing gas while driving a white Mercedes Benz erratically in Taoyuan District. When police attempted to pull the driver over, the man, named Lu, refused to stop. Lu continued to drive

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