TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday (July 27) apologized for the cigarette smuggling scandal which overshadowed her return from a foreign tour.

Two officers at the National Security Bureau (NSB) were alleged to have tried to smuggle about 10,000 cartons of cigarettes duty-free into the country using the president’s trip as cover.

The president talked to the media Saturday, saying the government would get to the bottom of the affair and that its determination should not be doubted, the Central News Agency reported.

No matter when the illegal practices started, the present government would investigate them and make sure they did not occur again, Tsai said, in a reference to the fact that cigarette smuggling during presidential trips started in 2014 during the rule of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).

All government departments should cooperate with the judicial investigation, Tsai emphasized, adding she had asked the new NSB director-general to present a report on the affair within a week.

In a message to national security agents, she said that if there were wrongs, they should be righted and that the service should shoulder the responsibility and honor of protecting the country.