Vietnamese Man Arrested in Taichung for Receiving Cannabis Hidden in Seaweed Package

(CNA, Taichung, May 21, reporter Su Mu-chun) A Vietnamese man surnamed Nguyen in Taichung is suspected of providing his name and address to an unknown overseas drug syndicate. He recently received a package disguised as "seaweed" that concealed the Class 2 narcotic, cannabis. Police tracked and arrested him, and he was subsequently detained after prosecutors' request was approved on drug-related charges. The First Brigade of the Third Special Police Corps stated today that Taipei Customs, under the Customs Administration of the Ministry of Finance, had detected an abnormal image of an international parcel from Thailand to Taichung City during a mail inspection. After being notified, the Taichung Investigation Branch of the First Brigade of the Third Special Police Corps opened and inspected the package, discovering five bags of Class 2 narcotic cannabis hidden inside "seaweed" packaging, with a gross weight of approximately 1,115 grams. The First Brigade of the Third Special Police Corps reported the case to the Taiwan Taichung District Prosecutors Office for command and formed a joint task force with the Taichung City Police Department's Criminal Investigation Corps for further investigation. After conducting surveillance, the task force observed the 27-year-old Vietnamese man, Nguyen, signing for and receiving the package. He appeared unusually excited, and security cameras even captured him "joyfully leaping into the room" when entering his workplace. The task force found that Nguyen had provided his name, phone number, and address to an unknown mastermind abroad to be used as the recipient information for the drug-concealing parcel. He was also responsible for handling calls from postal staff and receiving the package. The seized cannabis has a market value of NT$2 million and could supply 3,000 individual uses. Fortunately, it was intercepted in time, preventing the drugs from flowing into the market. After police questioning, the case was transferred to the Taichung District Prosecutors Office for investigation on suspicion of violating the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act. Nguyen was detained upon the prosecutor's request. The investigation will continue to trace the mastermind and the drug trafficking network. (Editor: Chang Ya-ching)