Five indicted over heroin shipment hidden in funeral shoes

Taipei, April 15 (CNA) Five members of a drug trafficking ring have been indicted for attempting to smuggle NT$40 million (US$1.26 million) worth of heroin into Taiwan from Laos by concealing it inside the soles of funeral shoes, officials said Tuesday.

The suspects, surnamed Chien (簡), Chen (陳), Kao (高), Chuang (莊) and Wang (汪), were charged in late March with drug offenses under the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act following their arrests in a months-long investigation led by the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB).

At a press conference Tuesday at which the case was made public, CIB official Wu Han-chung (吳漢中) said the traffickers hid heroin inside the soles of traditional funeral shoes, resealed them, and shipped them from Laos to Taiwan in late 2025 using the postal service's international express delivery service.

The plot was uncovered on Nov. 24, when Taipei Customs officials flagged two suspicious parcels after they were inspected by X-ray machines.

The parcels were searched, and officials found 70 pairs of shoes containing 140 packets of heroin weighing a total of 8,490.7 grams, which had an estimated street value of NT$40 million, Wu said.

To root out the entire network, authorities removed the drugs and replaced them with a dummy substance to conduct a controlled delivery.

On Nov. 26, the parcels were delivered to a residential building in New Taipei's Xizhi District, where a 31-year-old man surnamed Wang collected them, and a 43-year-old man surnamed Chuang was seen nearby monitoring the pickup.

After the two met briefly, Wang took a taxi to a local market in Xizhi to hand the boxes to a 58-year-old man surnamed Kao.

Kao then drove to a park in Zhonghe District to deliver the shipment to a 51-year-old man surnamed Chen, whom investigators believe was the primary coordinator of the operation.

Police moved in at the park and arrested Kao while simultaneously detaining Wang and Chuang. Although Chen initially managed to flee the scene, he was captured on Jan. 21 following weeks of surveillance.

Further analysis of mobile communications also identified a 54-year-old man surnamed Chien as part of the ring. Chien was later arrested on Dec. 1 for having instructed Chuang to monitor the handoff process.

After their arrests, all five suspects denied being involved in drug trafficking. Chen claimed he was merely doing a favor for a friend by receiving a package, while Chien insisted he had only asked associates to track a debtor.

Following questioning, prosecutors obtained orders to detain Chen, Kao and Wang, while Chien and Chuang were released on NT$200,000 and NT$100,000 bail, respectively. All five were formally indicted in March.