Former Winter Olympian among 14 indicted in Yunlin drug case

Taipei, Aug. 13 (CNA) Prosecutors have indicted a former Winter Olympian and 13 others for allegedly operating a cross-border heroin trafficking network, with the 70-year-old man accused of directing the group's operations by cellphone while bedridden with a serious illness.

The Yunlin District Prosecutors' Office said on Thursday that it indicted 14 people under the Organized Crime Prevention Act and the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act, seeking sentences ranging from at least five years to life imprisonment for the defendants.

The man, surnamed Wu (吳), allegedly began operating the heroin trafficking and sales network in 2025.

Wu, who represented Taiwan at the Winter Olympics in 1984, has in recent years been bedridden after undergoing a tracheostomy. Prosecutors suspect he turned to drug trafficking to cover his medical expenses.

Despite his condition, Wu allegedly used his cellphone to coordinate the group's operations and arrange for heroin to be transported into Taiwan.

Initially, three members, including a man surnamed Chen (陳), allegedly traveled to Cambodia and Myanmar to smuggle heroin into Taiwan as drug mules, but were arrested in January 2026 at the airport.

After the arrests, Wu allegedly switched to using international parcels, instructing other members, including a man surnamed Su (蘇), to receive heroin shipments before repackaging and selling the drugs.

Authorities arrested all 14 individuals in a series of operations in May and seized more than 1.6 kilograms of heroin and cash, prosecutors said.

Investigators allege Wu arranged for heroin to be transported into Taiwan four times, totaling more than 2.3 kilograms with an estimated street value of over NT$23 million (US$714,704).

Prosecutors described Wu as the leader of the transnational drug trafficking network and said the operation had seriously endangered public health.

They asked the court to impose life sentences on Wu and two other defendants, a woman surnamed Tu (杜) and a man surnamed Yang (楊), citing Wu's role as the alleged ringleader and the other two defendants' denial of the charges and failure to cooperate after being arrested.

Prosecutors are seeking prison terms of at least 15 years for three other defendants, while seven individuals who confessed to the charges have been recommended for sentences of at least eight years.

Another defendant, surnamed Lee (李), admitted helping with money transfers and other matters but denied involvement in drug trafficking. Prosecutors have requested a prison term of at least five years, citing his lack of cooperation after being detained.