The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) on Friday busted an alleged smuggling ring in the outlying island of Kinmen, where they say officials found shoreline village fishermen were doing a thriving business trafficking high-value goods destined for both Taiwan and China.
It was one of the biggest smuggling operations at sea in recent years, according to CGA officials.
Five suspects were detained and questioned, and the cargo was seized.
Coast guard official Chu Li-pin (曲立斌) said the confiscated cargo is so diverse that “it was almost like they were operating an offshore supermarket.”
The contraband included consumer electronic goods, LCD projectors, personal communication gadgets, automotive parts and accessories for home appliances, along with Taiwanese tea, Kinmen kaoliang, pineapple cakes, goat milk powder and chocolate bars. They also included cosmetics, CDs, children’s books, traditional Chinese medicine, herbal medication patches, medical balms and other pharmaceutical items.
Chu said the estimated value of the confiscated goods is more than NT$2 million (US$63,431), but they could be worth more than NT$5 million in China.
He said most of the goods came from Taiwan and were bound for China, but the Chinese boat raided also carried contraband bound for Taiwan.
Three Taiwanese fishermen and two Chinese nationals were detained and are liekly to be charged with violating the Customs Anti-Smuggling Act (海關緝私條例).
Chu said the CGA patrol vessels used radar to close in on the two vessels, which were meeting up near Houtou Islet to transfer the goods.
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