2 Vietnamese arrested for receiving 2.2 kg of cannabis in post

Taipei, Sept. 16 (CNA) Two Vietnamese men were arrested for receiving 2.2 kilograms of dried cannabis flower worth NT$3 million (US$98,895) via international package, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said Tuesday.

The suspects, surnamed Vo and Ngo, were arrested on May 22 and June 2, respectively, after the Taipei Customs reported finding the drugs in a package from Thailand on May 15, the bureau said in a press conference.

It said the customs officials flagged the package as "suspicious" following an X-ray inspection, and opened the package to find two cookie boxes with nine packages of cannabis flower inside.

Police followed the package and arrested Vo, 31, who had collected it, at a factory in Changhua County.

According to police, Vo claimed a friend had asked him to retrieve the package for someone else and denied knowing it contained cannabis.

After further investigation, police discovered that Ngo, 37, planned to collect the package from Vo at his residence and arrested him in Taipei.

According to the CIB, Ngo claimed he had "asked a friend to send medicine from overseas" and denied both knowing Vo and knowing that the package contained illicit drugs.

Ngo, an absconded migrant worker, was already wanted by authorities in Taipei for drug, fraud and money laundering offenses, the bureau added.

The suspects have been detained incommunicado, the bureau said.