TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Cooperation between the Coast Guard Administration and the US Drug Enforcement Administration resulted in the seizure of 1.3 tonnes of drugs on board a Tanzania-registered freighter, reports said Friday.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) attended the event in Kaohsiung announcing the seizure, per CNA. He praised the six law enforcement units that acted on a tip from the DEA and impounded the ketamine and methamphetamines.
The street value of the drugs was estimated at more than NT$2 billion (US$63.58 million), officials said. The Coast Guard found the Kim Chang Long and its cargo near the Dongsha Islands, 600 kilometers southwest of Kaohsiung, in June.
The crew pretended the ship’s engine had technical problems, but they were stuffing drugs in bags to drop them into the sea, destroying evidence, investigators said.
After several attempts to board the freighter failed, the Coast Guard fired flashbang grenades as a warning. On board, they found 53 bags containing drugs, while they recovered five more floating around the ship. Prosecutors charged two Taiwanese officers and nine crew members from Myanmar with breaking anti-drug laws.
The latest seizure amounted to 10% of the 13,819 kilograms of drugs seized during all of last year, Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The action showed the Coast Guard was able to intercept illegal drugs before they reached Taiwan and caused harm, she said.
