TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A 32-year-old Taichung woman surnamed Lin (林) was taken into police custody after purchasing one kilogram of marijuana in Thailand, which was later hidden in a homemade voodoo statue that was smuggled into Taiwan.
Taichung Customs tipped off the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) about the suspicious package, leading to the arrest of the man who signed for the package as well as Lin. The statue was found to contain marijuana with a street value of NT$1 million (US$31,500), per Liberty Times.
Taichung Customs had notified the CIB in mid-November that it intercepted a suspicious package imported from Thailand. After inspection, a 50-cm plaster voodoo statue was found to contain more than one kg of marijuana, which is a class 2 narcotic in Taiwan.
Marijuana concealed in plaster sculpture. (Taichung Police Department photo)
After making the discovery, Taichung District Prosecutor's Office formed a task force, which learned that Lin had used the internet to contact a friend to purchase NT$30,000 worth of marijuana in Thailand. Lin later advised her friend to hide the marijuana in a plaster statue.
A photo of the voodoo statue was then sent to Lin for confirmation. Lin then hired an unsuspecting man to sign for the package and deliver it.
Authorities reveal the seized marijuana. (Taichung Police Department photo)
The man who picked up the package did not know he was illegally transporting drugs until he encountered police. He revealed the location of Lin’s residence in Taichung’s West District, and she was later brought in for questioning.
Police seized 1,094 grams of marijuana, with an estimated market value of about NT$1 million. Authorities warned the public that smuggling a category-2 narcotic includes a minimum 10-year prison sentence and a NT$15 million fine. The public was also reminded not to collect or sign for packages on behalf of others.
A Taichung woman named Lin is at the center of a drug smuggling case. (Taichung Police Department photo)