Pingtung prosecutors on Thursday said seven suspects detained on board a Sierra Leone-registered merchant vessel in July were indicted that day following the completion of their investigation into a drug smuggling case.
In a statement, the Pingtung District Prosecutors Office said the seven people were caught with 405 kilograms of ketamine on board the Sierra Leone-registered "Fu Shih Shan No. 1" off the coast of Hengchun Peninsula in Pingtung County on July 11.
The suspects include one Taiwanese national surnamed Huang (?), while the six others, one being the captain of the vessel, were from Indonesia, prosecutors said.
The Fu Shih Shan No. 1 departed Kaohsiung Harbor on May 19, and took the drugs on board in Vietnamese waters, the district office said.
The crew had been instructed by two contacts - one Chinese, one Taiwanese -- to transport the ketamine from Vietnam to Taiwan, prosecutors said.
It was not immediately clear whether the two contacts linked to the smuggling case are in Taiwan or if they have been apprehended.
A separate investigation into the two subjects is still ongoing and therefore no further information can be disclosed at this time, the district office added.
According to prosecutors, Huang and the six other suspects were charged Thursday with smuggling Category 3 drugs into Taiwan.
Amobarbital, nalorphine and ketamine are classified in Taiwan as Category 3 narcotics, and under the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act, offenders caught manufacturing, transporting or selling Category 3 narcotics are subject to a minimum seven-year fixed-term prison sentence and a fine of no more than NT$10 million.
The Fu Shih Shan No. 1 was seized by the authorities and sold at auction for NT$1.4 million (US$50,289) on Oct. 25, the office said.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel