FBIS4-26323 "drchi119_v_94021"
FBIS-CHI-94-119 Daily Report 20 Jun 1994
TAIWAN

International Drug Trafficking Ring Cracked

International Drug Trafficking Ring Cracked OW2006142194 Taipei CNA in English 1319 GMT 20 Jun 94 OW2006142194 Taipei CNA English BFN [By Debbie Kuo] [Text] Taipei, June 20 (CNA) -- The Investigation Bureau announced Monday [20 June] that an international drug-trafficking ring involving both Japanese and Taiwanese was cracked Sunday, with more than 150 kilograms of amphetamines being seized. Five Japanese, including an underground gang member and four fishing boat crewmembers, were arrested Sunday while trying to smuggle the 151 kilograms of high-grade amphetamines through Kagoshima port in Kyushu, Japan. Simultaneously, four Taiwanese, including two traffickers and two dealers, were apprehended in Taiwan, Wang Hua-fu, a spokesman for the bureau's Taipei headquarters, said. Wang said bureau officials had teamed with Japanese police for three months in trying to crack the drug ring, which bought amphetamines in Mainland China and then smuggled the shipments to Japan via Taiwanese and Japanese fishing boats. According to Wang, the ring, which was supported by Japanese organized crime syndicates, had smuggled several metric tons of amphetamines from Mainland China to Japan over the last eight years. Amphetamines have become a popular drug among the middle and lower classes in Japan, and prices for it have been surpassing that of heroin. The amphetamines seized Sunday have a street value of US$55.55 million [words indistinct]. This was the biggest anti-drug-smuggling operation mounted by Taiwan since a national anti-drug conference was held here earlier this month.