Taiwan’s Guard Administration, in cooperation with the US, has cracked multiple cross-border drug trafficking cases, seizing heroin worth over US$2.6 million.

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Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration (CGA) has partnered with the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) to crack down on cross-border drug trafficking, dismantling 14 cases since October of last year with a combined street value exceeding NT$81 million (US$2.6 million). 

In one operation, investigators forced open a suitcase and discovered over four kilograms of heroin concealed inside. An American woman attempted to play innocent until X-ray imaging made her involvement undeniable. In another case, two Polish men swallowed large quantities of heroin in Ho Chi Minh City before boarding a flight to Taiwan; one ingested 1,239 grams, while the other swallowed 940 grams, both dangerously close to the human body's limit. Inspectors rushed both men to the hospital for emergency extraction.

Acting Prosecutor General Hsu Hsi-hsiang (徐錫祥) acknowledged the difficulty of such investigations. "Body packing is low-cost and highly covert, making it extremely difficult to detect. Without actionable intelligence from HSI, it would be nearly impossible to justify a destructive search," he said.

HSI's Taiwan representative, Brian Sherota, noted that many couriers originated from Europe, with 22 suspects arrested and approximately 23 kilograms of heroin seized. The CGA pledged to deepen U.S. cooperation to keep drugs out of Taiwan.