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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Australian woman charged after airport customs finds large quantity of heroin in suitcase
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
Read moreDrug syndicate disguises drug mules as monks: Fake monks arrested at airports in Taiwan and Japan
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
Read moreBiggest amphetamine smuggling bust in Taiwan history: 1.4 ton drug haul intercepted at Port of Kaohsiung
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
Read more456 KG: Biggest marijuana smuggling bust in Taiwan’s history
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
Read morePolice student sentenced to 5-year prison term for importing marijuana
A student of Taiwan’s Central Police University who was expelled and charged for importing marijuana by mail was handed a 5-year prison term by the Taoyuan District Court, today, January 27. According to an investigation by the Taoyuan District Prosecutor’s Office, the 20-year-old man, named Hsu, in collusion with a person identified only with the nickname “Duck,” conspired to import 200 grams of marijuana with the delivery address being Hsu’s home in Taoyuan District. On August 5, Taipei Customs officers
Read more900kg amphetamine haul bound for Taiwan intercepted in Thailand
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
Read more720 KG amphetamine haul intercepted at Yilan County fishing port
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
Read more8KG of pure heroin smuggled in shipment of Buddha statues from Myanmar
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
Read more20-kilogram amphetamine haul found on New Taipei City coast drifted from Pingtung County after smuggling boat capsized
An investigation has concluded that a 20.8 kilogram haul of amphetamines found by anglers in Wanli District, New Taipei City had originated from a boat that capsized off the coast of Pingtung County last year, prosecutors announced today, February 4. According to reports, a man named Lin and three friends were fishing on the coast in Wanli District on May 12, 2020, when they noticed a bag floating on the sea. The men scooped the bag ashore and found that
Read moreKetamine smuggled from Pakistan in rock salt shipment leads to major drug supplier bust
An investigation into a haul of ketamine hidden in a shipment of rock salt imported from Pakistan earlier this month led to the bust of a local drug manufacturing operation, and prevented the import of more than 500 kilograms of ketamine and heroin from Thailand, Kaohsiung District Prosecutors revealed today. On December 4, a joint task force of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, Kaohsiung City Maritime Affairs Field Division, and Kaohsiung City Customs Department opened a container at the Port of
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