TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Police discovered the largest marijuana plantation in it’s history next to an Army base in Taoyuan City, with six Indonesian women employed to water the plants, reports said Tuesday (Sept. 27).
The authorities confiscated 4,200 plants with a total value estimated at NT$600 million (US$18.91 million) next to the 601st Air Cavalry Brigade base in the Longtan District. Two men rented 9,699 square meters of farmland in May and recruited six unaccounted-for workers from Indonesia to water and harvest the drugs, the Liberty Times reported.
In order to hide their business from neighboring farmers, the two men also planted rice, fruit, and vegetables on the outskirts of their plot. Due to the size of the operation, police suspect more people might be involved.
Acting on a tip, they sent an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to fly over the area to discover the plantation. The two suspects admitted they were growing marijuana, but they said distribution of the product to customers had not started yet.
Taiwan lists marijuana as a category-two narcotic, with perpetrators likely to incur a prison sentence and a fine of up to NT$15 million.
