TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan and Thai police last month seized methamphetamine and cannabis from a warehouse in Thailand worth NT$730 million (US$22.28 million) and arrested five Myanmar nationals.

In December, Kaohsiung's Ciaotou District Prosecutors Office received intelligence indicating the drugs were being smuggled into Taiwan. The information suggested that a Southeast Asian drug syndicate was planning to transport narcotics from Thailand to Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea. 

Prosecutors formed a joint task force comprising the Criminal Investigation Bureau, the International Criminal Affairs Division, and the National Police Agency. The task force activated an international cooperation mechanism, dispatching the CIB’s liaison office in Thailand to hold a working meeting with the Royal Thai Police’s Narcotics Suppression Bureau.

Thai police conducted surveillance and collected evidence before launching a raid on Jan. 9 in Samut Prakan Province. The operation resulted in the seizure of 201 kg of methamphetamine packaged as tea, valued at approximately NT$400 million. There was also 225 kg of high-concentration cannabis resin, worth about NT$330 million. Five Myanmar nationals caught packaging the drugs were arrested.

Police have traced the drug supply to mountainous areas along the Thailand-Myanmar border. They pledged to track down other members of the syndicate.