Drugs

Explosion, fire in house exposes illicit drug factory in Tainan City

house exterior and interior composite image
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Firefighters called to a fire in a house in Tainan City last month, uncovered an illicit drug manufacturing operation, police revealed today, December 22. Nearby residents reported an explosion and fire in the house in Jiali District at around 4:00 pm, November 24. The Tainan City Fire Department dispatched 15 vehicles and 31 personnel to the scene of the fire. Firefighters found the house unoccupied, and bare of furniture, but filled with chemical containers and laboratory equipment. The fire was

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Man caught growing 186 marijuana plants ‘for his own use’

cannabis grown under lights
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

A man caught growing marijuana in Keelung City yesterday, December 20, told police that the 186 plants were for his own use. Police raided a house on Fuyi Street, after receiving a tip-off that the 50-year-old man, named Chen, was cultivating marijuana in the building. Police investigators found 13 mature plants, 173 seedlings, 13 bags of dried cannabis with a total weight of 549 grams, cultivation equipment, and other evidence. The plants were grown under lights, with black cloth covering

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900kg amphetamine haul bound for Taiwan intercepted in Thailand

Thai police display drugs at press conference
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , , ,

Police in Thailand intercepted a close to one-ton haul of amphetamines bound for Taiwan hidden in floor tiles at a port in Bangkok two days ago, Thai police revealed at a press conference yesterday, December 4. The intercept was the result of a joint investigation by Thai and Taiwanese police agencies, media reports in Taiwan said today. Thailand Customs said that the drugs were hidden in silicon floor tiles, with each of 161 tiles being filled with 4.5 to 6

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Physically fit felon tests police stamina in foot chase through streets of New Taipei City

composite picture of suspect during police chase
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Police in New Taipei City went through an unscheduled test of physical fitness, Sunday, when a man wanted on drugs charges lead the officers on a half-hour chase, until he was cornered and arrested. Police officers were on a routine patrol in Banqiao District when they spotted a suspected wanted person at the intersection of Nanya West Road and Guanqian West Road. The man pretended to cooperate with an identity check, but suddenly fled as police were about to search

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Two arrested after couple found dead in motel jacuzzi

Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Kaohsiung City police have arrested two people suspected of dealing drugs after a man and a woman were found dead in a motel in Gushan District yesterday, November 6. Motel staff entered a room shortly after noon after the occupants failed to check out, didn’t answer the phone, and did not respond to knocks on the door. The staff found the two occupants, a male, named Hong, 20, and a female, named Huang, 18, naked and unresponsive in a jacuzzi.

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400 kg heroin haul the largest on-shore drug bust in Taiwan history

double lion brand heroin bricks
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 2 Comments , ,

Police in New Taipei City arrested three men and confiscated 400 kilograms of high-purity heroin in what is believed to be the largest on-shore drug bust in Taiwan’s history, it was announced at a press briefing yesterday, November 4. The Criminal Investigation Corps of New Taipei City Police Department began an investigation into the large-scale drug trafficking operation after receiving intelligence in September that a warehouse on Dake 1st Road in Taishan District was being used by a drug smuggling

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720 KG amphetamine haul intercepted at Yilan County fishing port

coast guard and police search fishing boat at Wushi Port
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Coast guard and police officers arrested three men after boarding a fishing boat and uncovering a 720 kilogram shipment of amphetamines at Wushi Port, Yilan County this afternoon, November 1. According to reports in United Daily News, the Taipei City Police Department Criminal Investigation Division received intelligence several days ago that the fishing vessel Zhenwang No. 2 was suspected to be involved in a smuggling operation. The police informed the Coast Guard Administration, and the vessel was kept under surveillance

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8KG of pure heroin smuggled in shipment of Buddha statues from Myanmar

buddha statues and heroin bricks presented as evidence
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Five suspects have been arrested following the discovery of a batch of heroin bricks hidden in a box of Buddha statues at Taoyuan International Airport in July. Aviation police said that the suspects imported a shipment of Buddha statues from Yangon, Myanmar, in May, 2021. However, the goods sat at the airport for a long time before anybody attempted to pick them up and make a customs declaration. Two months later, in July, a man named Liu turned up at

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Mad reefer: beef noodle shop peddles manic marijuana strain

cannabis indoor grow chamber
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 4 Comments ,

Police uncovered growing locations of a rare strain of marijuana in Yilan County, Taichung City, and Kaohsiung City, after a months-long investigation that uncovered a drug ring centered around a beef noodle restaurant in northern Taiwan. The Third Special Police Corps began an investigation into the drug ring in April after the arrest of a male foreign student who was found growing a rare cannabis variety known as “sour diesel” in Taoyuan City. The suspect, described in media reports as

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County Mayor takes a sniff but doesn’t get a whiff at Changhua’s biggest marijuana bust display

Changhua county Mayor Wang Huimei points to a marijuana plant
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Changhua County Mayor Wang Huei-mei said she still doesn’t know what marijuana smells like because she was wearing a mask while visiting a police exhibit displaying evidence of the largest cannabis growing operation uncovered in the county in recent years. Changhua County prosecutors have charged four men in relation to the case after police investigators found 275 marijuana plants being grown in a rented apartment in Xizhou Township. Investigators conducted a 24-hour surveillance on the operation, and finally swooped a

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13 doctors convicted, sentenced for taking pharmaceutical company bribes

medical and administration staff of Gangshan Armed Forces Hospital
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

Thirteen military medical officers from an armed forces hospital in Kaohsiung City were handed sentences ranging from 1 year, 9 months to 7 years, 8 months for taking bribes from pharmaceutical company representatives in return for prescribing specific drugs to patients, according to reports today, July 6. The Kaohsiung District Court found that pharmaceutical companies provided bribes ranging from NT$170,000 to nearly NT$1 million to doctors and hospital administrators of the Gangshan Armed Forces Hospital in return for prescribing their

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