Police chief, 10 officers suspected of helping cigarette smugglers

Taipei, March 11 (CNA) A police chief, 10 officers and three members of Taiwan's Coast Guard are among 20 people named as suspects on Tuesday by prosecutors investigating a Changhua cigarette smuggling ring.

The Changhua District Prosecutors Office said that the 20 individuals are suspected of violating the Anti-Corruption Act, while the police officers are also suspect of leaking information of a secret nature.

Prosecutors on Tuesday requested the court to detain two of the coastal patrol officers incommunicado, while releasing four individuals on bail, including one coastal patrol officer, police officers and smugglers.

The case began as an investigation into cigarette smuggling in 2023, but confiscated cell phones showed that coastal patrol officers and police officers were involved in leaking secrets and receiving bribes.

Prosecutors on Monday conducted searches in 38 locations, including the Coast Guard Administration Investigation Branch, the Taichung City Police Department's several precincts, Criminal Investigation Corps and Special Police Corps, as well as one Changhua County Police Department precinct and Criminal Investigation Corps.

A total of 28 people were taken in for questioning.

A source familiar with the matter said that individuals involved in the smuggling case allegedly illegally queried about the license plates of official vehicles.

This raised suspicions about information leaks to the targets of police investigations and possible acceptance of bribes, the source said.