Two coast guard investigators were today detained without visitation rights on suspicion of leaking information and accepting bribes in connection to a Changhua County cigarette smuggling case, the Changhua District Prosecutors’ Office said.
Yesterday, 28 people were brought in for questioning, with 20 officially listed as suspects, prosecutors said in a news release.
The suspects included three Coast Guard Administration (CGA) investigators, 11 police officers and six members of the cigarette smuggling syndicate.
Photo: Taipei Times
After questioning, two of the coast guard investigators were detained on suspicion of contravening the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例) and the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法), for allegedly holding unexplained funds and leaking government secrets, they said.
The other coast guard investigator, one of the police officers and two members of the cigarette smuggling ring are suspected of leaking information, but were released on bail ranging from NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 each, prosecutors said.
The remaining 22 people were allowed to leave, they said.
The case involves officers from the CGA’s Investigation Branch, the Taichung Police Department and the Changhua County Police Department, prosecutors said.
Yesterday, the Agency Against Corruption dispatched 155 personnel to search 38 sites, they said.
The investigation found that CGA staff and local police officers had allegedly accessed government vehicle records and passed the information to the smuggling gang, they said.
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