TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Police arrested a man after he signed off on imported bowls from Italy, which contained 43 kilograms of the illegal drug ketamine, reports said Thursday (Sept. 22).

Sun (孫), 23, imported 1,183 stainless steel bowls, but customs inspectors opened them up after X-ray checks at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on April 22 revealed the bottom of the bowls showed an irregular shape, CNA reported. Inside 995 bowls, they found a total of 43 kg of white powder which turned out to be ketamine with a street value estimated at NT$100 million ($3.16 million).

Police allowed the bowls to be delivered to an address inside an industrial zone in Sanxia District, New Taipei City, where they arrested Sun when he showed up to sign for the delivery.

At first, he denied knowledge of the ketamine, but he later admitted he had arranged the deal with a man in China through the LINE messaging app. Sun said he had been told to wait for further instructions from China to pass the drugs on to another person.

Prosecutors initially charged Sun in July, while they continued to search for possible accomplices, according to the CNA report.