Japanese marijuana smuggler sentenced to 5 years and 4 months

Kaohsiung, July 24 (CNA) The Kaohsiung District Court has sentenced a Japanese man to five years and four months for attempting to smuggle nearly 12 kilograms of marijuana into Taiwan.

Considering he has no family and friends nor a place to live in Taiwan, he will be deported after serving his sentence, the court said.

According to the court, the man named "HATA SHINOBU" got in contact with a person called "MIYAUCHI" via the internet, who booked hotels and flights to Thailand and Taiwan for him in February.

HATA then flew to Bangkok, Thailand where "unknown personnel" handed him a suitcase with marijuana, said the court.

Before he was able to deliver the drug to a hotel in Tainan as MIYAUCHI had instructed, he was intercepted at Kaohsiung International Airport after police officers flagged his luggage during x-ray inspection and customs officers discovered 25 packs of the drug inside.

During the investigation, HATA fully acknowledged his involvement and provided information that the drugs were handed to him by someone who was under MIYAUCHI's instructions, the court said.

When making its verdict, the court took into account several mitigating factors, including that the suspect had no criminal records, admitted to his crimes, worked only as a "low-ranking mule" and that the drugs were discovered before they were distributed.

The sentence is subject to appeal.