Taichung prosecutors today said they have indicted five suspects on charges of manufacturing narcotics, after 1,756kg of ketamine was seized with a street value of NT$1.5 billion (US$48.84 million) from a factory in Changhua County.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau said it received intelligence in June that a drug-smuggling ring was producing ketamine in a 1,650m² corrugated iron factory in an industrial park of Changhua County’s Siansi Township (線西), hoping that nearby plastic and machinery factories would mask the smell.
Ketamine is a Category 3 narcotic in Taiwan.
Photo: Chen Chien-chih, Taipei Times
The Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office instructed the bureau and the Taichung Police Department to gather evidence and obtained a search warrant on June 19, after which it dispatched a special task force to raid the site.
Police seized 628kg of ketamine and 1,228kg of unfinished product, plus plastic and metal drums, raw chemical materials, drug-making equipment and mobile phones, the office said.
Five suspects were arrested, including the suspected ringleader, a man surnamed Chen (陳).
They were transferred to the Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office for investigation before a court approved their detention.
Authorities said they are continuing to trace the distribution channels of the seized drugs, which have been destroyed according to regulations.
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