Changhua illegal cigarette factory busted, 5 tonnes of tobacco seized

Taoyuan, April 27 (CNA) Police in Taiwan raided an illegal cigarette manufacturing site in Changhua County Friday, detaining one suspect and seizing 5 metric tons of tobacco, the Taoyuan City Police Department said Sunday.

A total of 315 bundles of unfinished tobacco were seized, each weighing about 17 kilograms which could have been used to make about 3.15 million cigarettes with a market value of nearly NT$20 million (US$614,113), according to the city's Zhongli Police Precinct.

The precinct, in conjunction with government agencies in Changhua and Nantou counties as well as the Pingtung County and Changhua County Police Departments, formed a special task force to investigate illegal tobacco cases. As a result, the cigarette factory in Changhua was uncovered and dismantled, Kao Hai-yuan (高海源), deputy head of the police precinct, said in a joint interview with the media.

During the operation a 35-year-old man surnamed Chiang (江) was arrested and cigarette-making machines seized, he added.

The follow-up investigation will focus on identifying anyone else involved in the illegal cigarette making operation, according to Kao.

Kao said that according to a preliminary understanding, the illegal cigarette factory had been in operation for about three months and mainly sold its products to migrant workers.

In addition, Lin Ting-tai (林鼎泰), the head of Zhongli Police Precinct, said that a task force of more than 100 police officers was mobilized Saturday and conducted sweeps at 16 nightclubs, hostess bars and other entertainment venues on four main roads in the district.

In the past week, the police precinct has solved 121 criminal cases (including 27 fraud cases), arrested 102 people and captured 41 wanted criminals in the district, Lin said.

From April 9-22, the police precinct also cracked 21 fraud rings, arresting 119 suspects, with requests for detention of 14 individuals approved. The operation led to the confiscation of NT$11.82 million, according to Lin.