60 arrested in Pingtung eatery over sale, use of drugs

Kaohsiung, Dec. 3 (CNA) Sixty people were arrested late last month on suspicions of using and selling illicit drugs at a popular eatery in Pingtung County, Kaohsiung police said on Tuesday.

At a news conference, Kaohsiung police said the 60 people, including customers, employees and bar girls, were rounded up by a task force of Kaohsiung and Pingtung law enforcement officers who raided the popular eatery in Ligang Township in the early hours of Nov. 26.

Police said they learned about the venue when investigating other cases involving the use and sale of illicit drugs, at venues where customers were accompanied by bar girls.

After a few months of monitoring the venue, the task force secured a search warrant and raided the premises, police said.

A bottle of category II drug etomidate, 330 packets of category III drug cathinone, three packets of ketamine, also a category III narcotic, and 14 ketamine-laced cigarettes were discovered after lockers and the bar girls' lounge were searched, police said.

In addition, NT$480,000 in cash was also seized, police said.

A total of 60 people -- 34 Taiwanese, nine Chinese and 17 Vietnamese (including five undocumented migrant workers) -- were apprehended.

Among them, a woman surnamed Su (蘇), 41, who was responsible for the eatery's operation, a 32-year-old hostess surnamed Huang (黃), two other female employees, and a 43-year-old man surnamed Hsieh (謝) were handed over to Pingtung District Prosecutors Office for further investigation for allegedly violating the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act, according to police.