New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, yesterday pledged to create an enforcement agency to crack down on drug-related offenses.
Hou unveiled his policy proposals to combat narcotics at a campaign event in Changhua County.
Citing recent high-profile incidents of influencers caught using cannabis, Hou said there was an urgent need to curb the circulation of illegal drugs, but that the task is split between the Investigation Bureau, the National Policy Agency and the Coast Guard Administration, hampering the effectiveness of the effort.
Photo: Chen Kuan-pei, Taipei Times
If elected president, Hou said he would follow the US’ example and establish a drug enforcement agency that would oversee efforts to combat narcotics.
The agency would aim to tackle the drug problem from its roots, and team up with central and local education authorities to ensure narcotics are beyond the reach of students, he said.
Regarding the trend of drug dealing being linked to organized crime, Hou said he would clamp down on criminal gangs, while stepping up efforts to tackle drug-related offenses, with the aim of breaking supply chains.
Punishments for manufacturing, selling and trafficking narcotics are too lenient and offenders need to be severely punished to provide a deterrent, he said.
Taiwan should work more closely with international policing partners to keep drug smuggling into the country at bay, he added.
Regarding how to detect narcotics disguised as candy or packets of instant coffee, Hou said that drug testing equipment plays a crucial role and pledged to provide funding for law enforcement agencies to upgrade any outdated tools.
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