Huge Firearms Cache Intercepted Ahead of Municipal Elections
More than 100 guns were intercepted by customs police at the Port of Keelung, April 29, and 6 suspects were arrested last night in Sanxia District of New Taipei City, as police continue a crackdown on organized crime groups ahead of municipal elections to be held in November this year.
The cache of 109 firearms was found in a shipping container of injection molding machines sent from Hong Kong. The cache included 102 handguns, 5 assault rifles, a sub-machine gun, a semi-automatic shotgun, and 12,378 rounds of ammunition.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau suspects that organized crime groups may have imported the arsenal in order to cause strife and interfere with the up-coming nation-wide municipal elections to be held later this year, according to Apple Daily.
Police raided a warehouse in Sanxia District after a 24 year-old man named Chen took consignment of the goods. Chen was arrested along with five accomplices.
According to Liberty Times, Chen is unemployed, and his family is in financial dire straits, with his father being chased by a landlord for rental arrears. Chen claims that he was offered NT$100, 000 to take consignment of a shipment. While he suspected it contained something illegal, he needed the money.
The arms smugglers communicated with Chen via Facebook.
According to United Daily News, all the suspects arrested are under 30 years-old and are not listed as gang members.
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