A captain was arrested on 30 January on suspicion of narcotics smuggling, following his detention aboard a containership docked at Kaohsiung Harbor the previous day, Taiwanese authorities report.
As reported, the captain was taken in for questioning after customs officials discovered a large quantity of heroin during an inspection of the Yang Ming Horizon, when it arrived in Kaohsiung on 29 January.
The vessel had departed Hai Phong Port in Vietnam with its itinerary originally listing a stop in Hong Kong before proceeding to Kaohsiung. However, the ship unexpectedly skipped Hong Kong and sailed directly from Vietnam to Kaohsiung, arriving late on the night of 29 January.
During the inspection, customs officers found dozens of bricks of heroin in the cargo hold. According to Taipei Times, the drugs were not only fully packaged and of exceptionally high purity but also included loose heroin wrapped in oil-paper bags, as well as white powder narcotics.
Additionally, Kaohsiung prosecutors interrogated the captain and requested that the district court issue an arrest warrant, which was granted. The task force noted that maritime drug smuggling in the past has typically involved older cargo ships.
According to the “Diversification in Maritime Cocaine Trafficking Modi Operandi” report, criminal networks have shown a remarkable ability to quickly adapt their operations, breaking up routes and using sophisticated, covert methods for trafficking.