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🇹🇼 Taiwan /Crime & Justice

6.6 kg of Heroin Hidden in 3 Model Cars Seized in Cross-Border Drug Bust

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement Outcome reported
  • Taiwanese authorities intercepted a large international drug shipment containing 6.6 kilograms of heroin hidden in model cars.
  • The drugs, smuggled from Thailand and valued at approximately NT$30 million, were discovered by customs officials in an international postal package.
  • Two men were arrested in Taichung for receiving the package, and prosecutors have indicted them on drug trafficking charges.

Taiwanese authorities have successfully thwarted an attempt to smuggle a significant quantity of heroin into the country, hidden within model cars. The operation, involving an international drug ring, saw 6.6 kilograms of heroin concealed in the bases of three model cars mailed from Thailand.

The package inside contained model cars, but the bottom structure was clearly abnormal.

— Criminal Investigation BureauDescribing the initial suspicion raised by customs officials regarding the postal package.

Customs officials at Taipei Port first detected anomalies in the postal package, noticing unusual structures in the bases of the model cars. Upon inspection, they discovered that the heroin had been divided into 16 plastic corrugated sheets and affixed to the undersides of the model vehicles. This elaborate method was designed to evade detection during transit.

The Criminal Investigation Bureau's central Taiwan anti-crime unit was alerted and, in coordination with the Taichung District Prosecutors Office, launched an investigation. Surveillance revealed that the package was addressed to a 46-year-old man surnamed Chen in Taichung's Taiping District. Chen, upon receiving the package, used an unsuspecting taxi driver to transport it to the residence of a 26-year-old man surnamed Hsia in Beitun District.

The drug traffickers actually divided the heroin into 16 plastic corrugated board layers and fixed them separately to the bottom of the three model cars.

— Criminal Investigation BureauDetailing the method used to conceal the heroin within the model cars.

Police moved in as Hsia began unpacking the shipment, arresting him and detaining Chen. The seized heroin has an estimated black market value of NT$30 million (approximately $900,000 USD) and could have been distributed for an estimated 60,000 individual uses. The two men have been indicted by prosecutors on drug trafficking charges. The investigation revealed that the overseas smuggling group directed the operation remotely via messaging apps, with Hsia and Chen responsible for receiving and unpacking the drugs in Taiwan.

The seized heroin weighed 6666.5 grams, with a market value of about 30 million NT dollars, enough for at least 60,000 uses if it entered the market.

— Liu YongjunCaptain Liu Yongjun of the Criminal Investigation Bureau's Central Taiwan Task Force explaining the scale of the drug seizure.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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