Coast Guard special forces helped bust black-market oil traders in Kaohsiung last Friday by snorkeling in the ocean for nearly seven hours then ambushing the smugglers while on their fishing boats.
Kaohsiung prosecutors said a group led by suspect Chen Chih-hsien (
DISGUISES
With lookouts disguised as fishermen surrounding the port where the oil was unloaded onto modified trucks, police determined that the only way to catch the smugglers in the act was to lie in wait in the water.
The navy is typically responsible for special operations and this was the first time a coast guard team -- which had been trained by the marines -- was responsible for this kind of specialized mission.
Coast guard boats dropped the 40 divers in the ocean outside the port at 7pm.
CLOSE CALL
The mission was almost called off, however, when the smugglers began their work three hours later than expected at 2am.
Commanders had ordered the divers to come back, worrying they would be too exhausted to continue after so many hours in the water.
But the coast guard divers insisted they weren't willing to waste all that time and effort by calling off the mission.
At around 1am smugglers in rafts began scouring the area for police.
They failed to discover the divers because the teams had split up, diving below the surface to avoid detection.
After the fishing boats arrived and the teams had regrouped, they received orders to sneak into the harbor, where they stormed the boats at approximately 2am.
SUSPECTS
Thirty suspects were captured in total.
The two Chens, who were directing from the shore, fled the scene in separate cars. Police later captured Chen Li-chen in Kaohsiung's Fengshan City (
Investigators in Miaoli County uncovered the racket at the end of last year when they discovered that machinery used by a black-market gravel ring was running on boat oil.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS