Police make arrests after cannabis shipment found

• Wang Yunren, Liu Ziying / staff reporter with staff writer

The National Police Agency (NPA) yesterday arrested five people on suspicion of smuggling a record 456kg of cannabis hidden in bags of wood pellets from Canada to Taiwan, the National Police Agency (NPA) said.

The 3rd Special Police Force held a press conference at the Criminal Investigation Bureau, where NPA Chief Huang Mingzhao applauded the police’s efforts and reaffirmed that law enforcement agencies will continue to crack down on drug trafficking and organized crime.

Hiroshi Hayashiya, 48, has lived in Canada for 10 years, according to police.

Since it is legal to buy cannabis in Canada, his childhood friend Chen Chizhong, an alleged member of the Taipei-based Northern Union criminal gang, decided it would be profitable to traffic cannabis to Taiwan. said the police.

Chen Chihchung discussed plans with Chen Liang-hsu, who is said to be a member of the Bamboo Union.

Police said Chen Lianghsu also sought help from gang members Huang Hung-tsung and Chen Chien-an.

Police say the group bought a company that sells set-top boxes, with Yao in charge.

The group imported an estimated NT$150,000 (US$4,678) worth of wood pellets in March and cleared Taiwan customs, but another shipment of wood pellets that arrived on April 28 contained 409 bags of wood pellets. Marijuana was hidden.

The company was registered to sell set-top boxes, so a shipment of wood pellets, a relatively low-cost product, raised suspicion, police said, after alleging a second shipment, to prosecutors and customs officials. He added that he worked with the police to arrest Yao.

According to police, Cheng Liangshu fled after Yao’s arrest and went on a pilgrimage with some friends in July to wish him good luck, but was detained after getting into a fight with a temple official.

Police said they tracked the shipment and arrested four other suspects, including Chen Liang-hsu, in the past six months, adding that investigators confirmed Lin, who is still in Canada, was an accomplice. .

Prosecutors have charged the five arrested and placed Lin on a wanted list, police said.

According to police, the cannabis was worth nearly NT$700 million and could reach 450,000 people if distributed.