Yunlin men arrested for stealing 330 kg of garlic, drug possession

Taipei, April 16 (CNA) Yunlin police on Wednesday announced the arrest of two men suspected of stealing 330 kilograms of garlic from a farmer's field on a rainy night over the weekend.

The Yunlin County Police Bureau said the two 50-year-old suspects, surnamed Chuang (莊) and Yang (楊), drove to the Baozhong Township farm late Saturday night, assuming that no one would be monitoring the fields due to the rainy weather.

The pair, however, were spotted by the farm's owner, who took down their license plate number as they attempted to make off with the stolen garlic in the bed of their small work truck, police said.

The police bureau's Huwei Precinct said it received a report about the theft at 10 p.m., and by 11 p.m. had tracked the two men down near Xingnan Bridge in Huwei Township, seizing 550 catties (330 kg) of garlic and an unspecified quantity of amphetamines.

The stolen garlic had a market value of NT$17,050 (US$524.49), police said.

Both men were later turned over to the Yunlin District Prosecutors Office on suspicion of larceny and violations of the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act, the bureau said.