TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Five Vietnamese nationals have been indicted for their participation in a drug trafficking syndicate that sold illegal drugs to foreign migrant workers in Taiwan.
On Tuesday (Nov. 12), the Aviation Police Bureau announced that since July, it along with customs officials intercepted multiple packages containing category 2 narcotic marijuana buds, which were airmailed from Thailand to Taiwan. All recipients were Vietnamese nationals.
To investigate the source of the drugs and the trafficking network, the bureau formed a task force with the National Immigration Agency. Under the direction of the Hsinchu District Prosecutors Office and the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office, officers apprehended five Vietnamese suspects in Taiwan.

Police seized five kilograms of marijuana and over NT$140,000 (US$4,300) in cash. They also identified a suspect living overseas.
The five suspects held various statuses, including undocumented migrant workers, individuals overstaying their visas, and a student who had absconded under a student visa. They had formed a transnational drug smuggling and trafficking network, using illicit channels to smuggle marijuana from Thailand, as well as using other foreign workers to obtain the category 3 narcotic ketamine and narcotic-laced coffee packets.
The individual who arrived on a student visa acquired a driver’s license, bought a car, and used it to transport drugs to various foreign-worker gathering spots in northern Taiwan, per Liberty Times. The group promoted drug sales through migrant worker community networks.

They allegedly sold the drugs at high prices to Vietnamese, Thai, and other foreign workers in Taiwan. Their network spanned northern Taiwan, and they often flaunted their wealth by purchasing gold bars and showing off large wads of cash on social media.
Prosecutors said the five suspects have been charged with violating the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例) and the Organized Crime Prevention Act (組織犯罪防制條例). The bureau and customs authorities vowed to combat drug trafficking rings and strengthen entry inspections.


