Two Taiwan nationals arrested in international drug smuggling case

Taipei, Dec. 16 (CNA) Two Taiwan nationals have been arrested in connection with an attempt to smuggle methamphetamine from the United States to Australia, following a joint investigation with authorities of the two countries, Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said Friday.

The key suspect, a 33-year-old man surnamed Chou (周), was arrested on July 26 in New Taipei, while his alleged accomplice, a 36-year-old man surnamed Lin (林), was tracked down in a follow-up operation on Oct. 4 in Taoyuan, CIB official Dustin Lee (李泱輯) told a news conference.

Chou and Lin have been transferred to the Shilin District Prosecutors Office for further investigation and could be charged with violating Taiwan's Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act.

A third suspect, a 32-year-old man surnamed Chen (陳), is currently on the run and has been put on a wanted list, Lee said.

Lee explained that the case was brought to the attention of the CIB by the Australian Federal Police (AFP), adding that the two organizations have a long relationship in information exchange on cross-border drug-related crime.

The CIB and AFP together designated the case "Operation Greenhill" as they worked to arrest the alleged drug smugglers.

Operation Greenhill discovered that Chou, who has a history of arrests for drug-trafficking-related crimes, sent Lin to Malaysia on an undisclosed date to negotiate details of their smuggling scheme with other parties.

In July, 30 kilograms of methamphetamine costing about NT$70,000 (US$2,276.07) per kg was purchased from Mexico and sent to the U.S. to be received by Chen, according to the CIB.

Chen was also in charge of hiding the drugs in 3D printers to be shipped to Australia, the bureau said.

The taskforce then enlisted the help of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) to intercept the drugs.

The CIB said that to build a solid case in Taiwan, the bureau used the provisions of the "Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office and the American Institute in Taiwan" to send agents to the U.S. and retrieve evidence collected abroad by the HSI.

An HSI agent who attended the Taiwan presser said the joint-investigation between Taiwan, Australia and the U.S. was a great success, and the countries will continue working together to crack down on international drug trafficking.