Tainan court hands down jail terms for 5 in marijuana smuggling case

Taipei, Jan. 27 (CNA) The Tainan District Court on Tuesday sentenced five people to prison terms ranging from 11 months to eight years for their roles in smuggling 330 kilograms of marijuana into Taiwan last year.

In its ruling, the court sentenced the captain of a Taiwan-registered vessel, surnamed Chen (陳), to eight years in prison, while a man surnamed Lee (李) received five years.

Three Indonesian crew members were each sentenced to 11 months, suspended for two years.

The ruling, however, can be appealed.

The court said the smuggling operation was masterminded by a man surnamed Cho (卓), who planned to traffic marijuana and seeds, a Category 2 narcotic in Taiwan, into the country for profit and instructed Lee to find people to pick up the drugs from a vessel at a designated offshore location.

Chen, a licensed captain who was in debt due to gambling, learned about the scheme through another man surnamed Lin (林), who is currently wanted by authorities.

Chen later agreed to pilot the Chin Yu Man No. 368 vessel in exchange for NT$5 million (US$159,047), the court added.

On Feb. 14, 2025, Chen and three Indonesian crew members departed from Donggang Yanpu fishing port in Pingtung County and later met an unidentified vessel at sea to transfer the cargo, according to the court.

In the early hours of Feb. 28, Taiwan's Coast Guard intercepted Chen's fishing vessel in waters southwest of Tainan. The boat was brought back to Anping Port, where authorities seized the marijuana and took the crew into custody.

Chou Cheng-chang (周政璋), head of the Tainan Reconnaissance Brigade, said at the time that the Chin Yu Man No. 368 sailed near the Pratas and Spratly Islands to pick up the cargo.

He added that a preliminary investigation determined the shipment originated in Thailand.