2 Taiwanese Men Arrested Over Alleged Plot to Smuggle Meth Into Australia

The Australian Federal Police badge is seen in Canberra, Australia, on Jun. 6, 2019 Getty Images

Two Taiwanese men were arrested in Taiwan for allegedly planning to smuggle 30 kilograms of methamphetamine into Australia using 3D printers, according to the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

The two suspects, who were allegedly senior members of a transnational crime syndicate, were arrested in Taiwan in July and October, respectively, the AFP said in a statement on Dec. 17.

AFP Assistant Commissioner Pryce Scanlan said the AFP had been working to identify one of them after encrypted messages intercepted during an operation allegedly showed that the suspect had coordinated over 30 imports of methamphetamine into Australia in 2020.

“Intelligence indicates he and his syndicate were attempting to import quantities of up to 100 kilograms at a time,” Scanlan said.

“We suspect they were operating long before we started monitoring them and were involved in multiple other drug trafficking plots targeting Australia,” he added.

Authorities then launched an operation to identify the criminal network and allegedly found that they were planning to import 30 kilograms of methamphetamine into Western Australia inside 3D printers, the AFP said.

The AFP estimated that 30 kilograms of methamphetamine could have been sold for about $45 million in Western Australia.

It stated that Australian authorities worked with international partners to intercept the drugs in the United States before they reached Australia.

They identified the suspect and alerted the Taiwan Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), which led to the arrest of the first suspect in New Taipei City in July. The man, 33, was also subjected to an arrest warrant in Taiwan over a separate drug offense.

The second suspect, 36, was arrested in Taoyuan City in October and was allegedly regarded as “the right-hand man” of the first detained suspect.

“We allege this operation has taken out two senior members of a TSOC [transnational serious and organized crime] syndicate and disrupted their gateway to import illicit commodities into Australia, which is a significant win for the community,” Scanlan said.

Both suspects, which CIB identified as Chou and Lin, have been transferred to the prosecutor’s office in Taiwan for further investigation. They could face life imprisonment in Taiwan if found guilty of the crimes.

CIB official Dustin Lee said on Dec. 16 that Taiwanese authorities are still searching for the third suspect, who was allegedly in charge of hiding the drugs in 3D printers, Focus Taiwan reported.