TAIPEI: Two Taiwanese teenagers were caught red handed by police at Taoyuan International Airport last Sunday for smuggling amphetamines worth NT$60 million (US$1.98 million) to New Zealand during the second day of Taiwan’s Tomb-Sweeping Day which runs from April 1-4, 2017.
This is the first reported case of Taiwanese high school students involved in global drug trafficking operations.
The 16-year-old student surnamed Chen, and his 19-year-old companion surnamed Hu are still high school students, and were heading for Auckland, New Zealand. The Aviation Police Bureau at Taoyuan Int’l Airport confiscate drugs smuggled by the two high school students to New Zealand. (CNA)
Police found in total 6.83 kilograms (kg) of amphetamines packed in 11 bags hidden in their luggage compartments, the two boys were carrying respectively 3.39 kg and 3.44 kg of amphetamines.
The Aviation Police Bureau (APB) noted the teenagers were smuggling the drugs in a very “public” manner in luggage, a strong contrast from experienced drug smugglers who normally conceal narcotics by tying it around their waist or thighs.
Police suspect the teenagers might have been targeted by criminal gangs through online social media and tricked into delivering the narcotics, without realizing the content they were shipping or the severity of drug smuggling crimes.
