Frenchman Arrested in Taiwan After Swallowing 101 Heroin Pellets

Taiwanese authorities apprehended a 50-year-old French national at Taoyuan Airport attempting to smuggle a significant quantity of heroin into the country. The man, who weighs approximately 100 kilograms, was found to have ingested 101 pellets of the drug, totaling 1.4 kilograms. The estimated street value of the heroin is in the tens of millions of New Taiwan Dollars.

The man was reportedly recruited by a drug trafficking group in Thailand and agreed to transport the drugs for a fee of $3,000 USD. He spent two days consuming the pellets before boarding his flight to Taiwan. The heroin was allegedly divided into 101 small balls, wrapped in plastic and sealed with hot glue, before being swallowed.

Upon arrival, he was intercepted by the Kaohsiung City Police Department's Criminal Investigation Corps. Medical examinations revealed the presence of the drug pellets in his stomach. He was taken to a hospital, where he spent five days waiting for the drugs to be expelled. After initial attempts with laxatives proved ineffective, the man informed medical staff that a mixture of milk and orange juice aided his digestion. This unconventional remedy proved successful, leading to the expulsion of all 101 pellets and astonishing the investigators.

The man has been transferred to the Qiaotou District Prosecutor's Office and faces charges related to drug trafficking, which could carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment or even the death penalty in Taiwan.