Co-conspirator in 1,200 kg drug trafficking plot handed 15 year sentence

Taipei, March 10 (CNA) A Kaohsiung court on Tuesday sentenced a man to 15 years in prison for his role in a scheme to smuggle over 1.2 metric tons of methamphetamine and ketamine into Taiwan on a rented cargo ship.

According to the verdict handed down by the Kaohsiung District Court, the man, named Lee Hsin (李鑫), and several others planned and recruited accomplices to smuggle drugs into Taiwan from overseas in 2023.

Lee Hsin advised the main suspect in the plot, Lee Chien-liang (李建良), to use an agency to set up an overseas shell company and lease the cargo ship Fei Yan in order to evade detection.

Conspirators in the plot each had different roles: Lee Hsin was the main financier, while a man sunamed Cheng (鄭) organized the shipping logistics, and another man surnamed Yeh (葉) handled land transportation and storage of the drugs.

Two other individuals -- along with a hired captain and crew who were not in on the plot -- accompanied the drugs on board the cargo ship, prosecutors said.

On July 16, 2023, the Fei Yan departed Kaohsiung and sailed into waters close to Hong Kong, where its automatic identification system (AIS) was turned off and its name changed.

On July 29, the ship met with another vessel at an arranged location off the coast of Vietnam, where 60 green burlap bags of methamphetamine and five bags of ketamine were taken on board, prosecutors said.

On Aug. 7, the Fei Yan arrived back at the Port of Kaohsiung, where police intercepted the drug shipment as the suspects were preparing to load it into a waiting truck.

Upon opening the bags, police uncovered and seized over 1.2 metric tons of methamphetamine and a smaller quantity of ketamine. Soon after, Lee Chien-liang, Yeh and others were taken into custody.

Lee Hsin was not among those initially arrested. However, after the ring leader Lee Chien-ming was sentenced to life in prison, he agreed to testify against his co-conspirators, ultimately having his sentence reduced to 17 years.

During his trial, Lee Hsin claimed he had not known about the smuggling plot, and had only offered to help the group establish a company. He also accused his accomplices of colluding against him to receive lighter sentences.

Prosecutors, however, used Lee Hsin's Line messages to show he had been deeply involved in the plot, providing personal information to register the shell company and coordinating logistics up until the day the drugs were seized.

On those grounds, the Kaohsiung court sentenced Lee Hsin to 15 years in prison for drug trafficking, citing his role in planning the crime, his continued denials of guilt, and the public safety risk posed by such a large quantity of drugs.

The verdict can be appealed.