Two Taiwanese arrested in Vietnam drug trafficking case

Taipei, Nov. 24 (CNA) Two Taiwanese men and four other people have been arrested in Vietnam on suspicion of drug trafficking after ketamine set to be shipped to destinations including Taiwan was discovered in two warehouses, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said Friday.

CIB investigator Chang Wen-yuan (張文源) said at a press conference in Taipei that the bureau had been conducting a probe into the matter and had discovered that two suspected Taiwanese drug traffickers had traveled to Vietnam in early September to join a crime ring.

Based on the CIB findings, Chang said a task force that included Vietnamese law enforcement officers was established to further investigate the matter.

The crime ring was suspected of shipping huge amounts of ketamine and other drugs out of Vietnam, Chang said.

The CIB was later informed by the Vietnamese police that the drugs were being stored in two warehouses in Vietnam.

In late September, the cross-border law enforcement task force raided one warehouse in Haiphong City, where 750 kilograms of ketamine was found, and arrested two Taiwanese men, Chang said.

A few days later, the task force members found 600 kg of ketamine in a warehouse in Ha Tinh Province, and arrested four suspects from China and Laos, he said.

In total, 1,350 kg of drugs were seized, Chang said, adding that in Taiwan they would have an estimated street value of NT$4.05 billion (US$128 million).

The six drug trafficking suspects have been handed over to prosecutors in Vietnam, who will conduct further investigations, he said.

The two Taiwanese men will be tried in Vietnam and will only be repatriated to Taiwan after serving any sentences handed down by the court in the Southeast Asian country, Chang added.

(By Liu Chien-pang and Evelyn Yang)

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