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Case Summary:
The Criminal Investigation Bureau received intelligence indicating that Vietnam and Laos had recently uncovered several heroin smuggling crimes, suspected that cross-border drug trafficking rings had drugs hidden in “art lamps” as a disguise for customs clearance in order to have them smuggled into Vietnam or Taiwan. The Criminal Investigation Bureau investigated such a crime by requesting the Police Liaison Office in Vietnam to contact the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security. The task force had indeed discovered suspicious packages sent from Vietnam to Taiwan recently through the exchange and comparison of cross-border intelligence, including detecting frequent change of waybill numbers, consistently declared contents of home decorations such as lamps, and recipients who were not Taiwanese citizens but foreign nationals from Thailand or Vietnam - all of which matched the big data analysis.
The task force then reported the crimes by the reporting area to Taiwan Ciaotou District Prosecutors Office for investigations. Prosecutor Kan-Ying Li coordinated the task force to conduct unpacking, inspection, and tracing investigations. The task force, together with the Customs Administration of the Ministry of Finance, inspected the contents of the packages and discovered that the drug trafficking rings had concealed heroin in the bases of art lamps, a highly sophisticated concealing method, on October 23, 2025. The base of each art lamp could hold four (4) blocks of drugs. A total of 7 suspicious packages and 13 art lamps were seized after a thorough inspection, which contained 52 blocks of Double UOGlobe brand heroin, a total of 19.875 kilograms, with a black-market value of over NT$200 million. The task force had successfully prevented massive amounts of drugs from flowing into the Taiwanese market.
The task force subsequently traced the receiving suspects in Taiwan and discovered that the drug trafficking rings deliberately changed the recipient’s identity several times, with the delivery destinations set at the chain stores in different counties and cities. Furthermore, the delivered packages were often left unclaimed, suggesting a deliberate attempt to evade detection by having the delivered packages claimed late, indicating an advanced counter-surveillance awareness on the part of the drug trafficking rings. The task force after reviewing written documents and analyzing surveillance footage determined that the drug trafficking ring’s true operation involved upstream agents’ appointing Thai suspects MU-○ and SI-○ to fly from Thailand to Taiwan, to pick up the packages directly from the freight company, and then to deliver them to a motel to be picked up by local Taiwanese members.
The task force after learning such operation monitored the entire process of the two Thai suspects from picking up the packages and delivering them to the hotel, then taking advantage of the suspects’ absence while shopping to swiftly arrest them and search the hotel rooms, and discovering that the packages had been opened and inspected. In order to further destroy the drug network in Taiwan, the task force continued to employ delaying tactics, preventing the drug trafficking rings from immediately monitoring the package status and forcing the Taiwanese members to collect the packages in person. Eventually, the task force successfully arrested three suspects at the receiving end. The investigated criminal act was reported to Taiwan Ciaotou District Prosecutors Office for further investigation in accordance with the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act. The Thai recipients, MU-○ and SI-○, were ruled to be held in detention and incommunicado by court order.
In order to implement the anti-drug strategy in Phase three “Establishing an international anti-drug cooperation network to intercept drugs overseas” of the Executive Yuan’s “New Generation Anti-Drug Strategy,” the task force of the Criminal Investigation Bureau has collaborated with the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security to exchange intelligence on cross-border drug trafficking; also, joined forces with Vietnamese and Lao police to jointly pursue cross-border drug trafficking rings, demonstrate the Taiwanese police’s “hardcore” capabilities in anti-drug effort, deepen cross-border cooperation between Taiwan and Vietnam, and show the Criminal Investigation Bureau’s firm determination in combating international drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau will continue to exchange intelligence and cooperate with domestic and international anti-drug agencies to prevent drugs from flowing into Taiwan and endangering public health as a result.
