Three men indicted for smuggling heroin into Taiwan

Taoyuan, March 10 (CNA) Three men were indicted late last month for smuggling heroin into Taiwan after the Aviation Police Bureau (APB) and Taipei Customs seized more than 14 kilograms of heroin and arrested the men in October 2023, the two agencies said Sunday.

The Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office indicted the three individuals, surnamed Wang (王), Shih (施) and Yang (楊), in late February on charges of conspiring to smuggle drugs into Taiwan in violation of the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act.

Chen Mien-tsung (陳綿宗), an officer in the APB's Criminal Investigation Police Brigade, said Sunday that the case stemmed from the seizure of nearly 14.4 kg of heroin, classified as a Category 1 illicit drug, in October 2023.

The APB had learned that drug trafficking syndicates were transporting heroin from Thailand into Taiwan and disguising it as nutrition milk powder for seniors, Chen said.

Wang, who was the key suspect in the case, imported genuine milk powder in the months leading up to the drug bust to try to throw Customs officers off, Chen said.

But their suspicions were raised by a tainted milk powder package addressed to "Liao Sen-rong" (廖森榮) that arrived in Taiwan from Thailand on Oct. 23.

Taipei Customs officers noticed something was wrong and searched it, finding 7.2 kilograms of heroin hidden in milk powder cans, according to Chen.

They then reported it to aviation police, who went to the warehouse the next day to trace the package and found that there was another parcel sent to Liao that looked the same as the milk powder package.

It contained 18 cans of milk powder in which 7.17 kg of heroin were hidden, but Customs officers decided to allow the cans to be delivered to see who would sign for them.

On Oct. 25, 2023, after Wang received a text message that the package could be picked up, Yang and Shih were informed to collect it in Dali District in Taichung.

After Yang signed the fake name "Liao Sen-rong," police arrested him on the spot, while Shih, who was outside waiting, fled the scene.

Two days later, Shih was arrested at a convenience store while Wang was arrested in a motel parking lot in Dajia District in Taichung.