2 Malaysians indicted in Taiwan for heroin smuggling

Taipei, Oct. 8 (CNA) Two Malaysian nationals have been indicted in Taiwan for smuggling nearly 3 kilograms of heroin with an estimated street value of over NT$30 million (US$980,000), according to Taiwan's Aviation Police Bureau (APB).

The APB told reporters on Wednesday that the two men were invited to Taiwan by a drug trafficking group, which offered them payment to carry the Category One narcotic into the country.

In June, the Taipei branch of the Customs Administration and the APB's Security Inspection Squad noticed a suspicious bag while conducting an X-ray screening of baggage arriving from Malaysia.

According to the APB Criminal Investigation Division, one of the suspects, a man in his twenties identified as "J," admitted to police that he had traveled to Taiwan with another Malaysian, "D."

J told police that D asked him to collect the luggage while D entered Taiwan first, the investigators said.

The bureau said D was intercepted by customs and police officers, and afterwards they opened the luggage and found 2.981 kg of heroin.

Chen Po-chuan (陳博全), head of the APB Criminal Investigation Division's second investigation squad, said surveillance footage showed J taking a taxi to a hotel in Taoyuan's Zhongli District after entering the country.

Chen said a task force formed by the APB and the Taoyuan Police Department's Zhongli and Pingjhen precincts executed an arrest warrant the same day, apprehending J at the hotel and seizing a mobile phone they claim was used to communicate with other suspects.

According to police, the two men told investigators that they had known each other in Malaysia and found the job opportunity through an online post advertising part-time work.

They said they were promised a free three-day, two-night trip to Taiwan and NT$35,000 each to bring the goods into the country, with someone arranged to collect the items after their arrival.

The APB said the case was transferred to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office for prosecution under Taiwan's Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act.

The bureau warned that anyone found guilty of manufacturing, transporting, or selling Category One narcotics in Taiwan faces the death penalty or life imprisonment, and that life sentences may include a fine of up to NT$30 million.