TAIPEI: A Venezuelan woman has been arrested at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport for alleged cocaine smuggling during a transit stop, the Aviation Police Bureau said Saturday. The woman, identified only as Martinez, aged 27, arrived from Dubai Friday night en route to Macau.
Police and customs officers found 29 unpacked battery chargers in the woman’s checked-in luggage during security checks, which they thought was quite unusual.
A further check showed that small packets of cocaine were hidden in the 29 chargers, and in five cans of deodorant, as well as in a waterproof camera. Around 3.545 kg of cocaine, with a market value of NT$30 million (US$944,700), was retrived.
The woman was handed over to the Taoyuan Prosecutors Office for violation of the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act. Aviation Police Bureau officials said that according to the law, those who manufacture, transport, or sell cocaine, a category one narcotic, are subject to the death penalty or life imprisonment.
