TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A golf champion accused of being the mastermind behind the smuggling of marijuana from the United States inside sofa parts was detained Wednesday (Nov. 20) following his arrival in Taiwan.

The case started in October last year when customs officers discovered 30 packages containing 17.21 kilograms of marijuana hidden in the sofa parts. Later the same month, they found 60 packages filled with 33.87 kg of marijuana, also mailed from San Francisco, California. 

The combined street value of the drugs was estimated at more than NT$100 million (US$3.07 million), per CNA.

Investigators detained seven suspected drug dealers inside Taiwan, while the mastermind was believed to be a member of the Bamboo Union organized crime gang called Chung (鐘), 30.

He was a golf trainer and champion from Taipei’s Neihu District who traveled frequently between Taiwan and the US. After entering the US in 2022 on a student visa, he did not return to Taiwan.

In cooperation with US law enforcement and Interpol, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) sent agents to Los Angeles to find Chung at his residence. He arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, with the Taipei District Prosecutors Office taking over the case.

The CIB cited Chung’s transfer as a positive and unprecedented example of international judicial cooperation between the two countries. The suspect will be investigated for breaking the Organized Crime Prevention Act and the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act.