By KHT Staff. Info and images via Lai Media.
NEW TAIPEI — Police have broken up a cross-border drug trafficking operation after intercepting four international express parcels shipped from Canada and falsely declared as “oolong tea.”
Authorities said the packages contained 20 bags of marijuana with a total gross weight of 1,340.5 grams. The drugs have an estimated black market value of NT$3 million.
The case began after Customs Administration officers at Taipei Customs flagged the shipments. A joint task force involving police units in New Taipei, Taipei, and Taoyuan was formed to track the suspects.
Investigators said the alleged ringleader, surnamed Lai (賴), coordinated the operation from behind the scenes. To avoid detection, he recruited a terminally ill man surnamed Yang (楊), who was also wanted by authorities, to collect the packages, effectively shifting legal risk onto him.
After surveillance operations identified the suspects’ movements and locations, police carried out coordinated raids, arresting Yang along with two accomplices who were acting as lookouts. Authorities later tracked down and arrested Lai. Prosecutors later indicted Lai and Yang on drug trafficking charges, while two other suspects were not charged due to insufficient evidence.
Cannabis Laws in Taiwan: among the strictest in the region
Cannabis remains fully illegal in Taiwan for both recreational and medical use, classified as a Category 2 narcotic under the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act—placing it alongside substances like amphetamines.
Penalties scale quickly:
- Use: up to 3 years in prison
- Possession: up to 2 years
- Cultivation (even personal use): 1–7 years + fines up to NT$1 million
- Trafficking/distribution: minimum 10 years to life imprisonment, plus fines up to NT$15 million
There is no medical marijuana system, and even CBD is tightly restricted, with near-zero THC tolerance.
Notably, enforcement can extend beyond Taiwan’s borders—Taiwanese nationals have faced prosecution for cannabis-related behavior overseas if it is deemed to promote drug use. RTI report from 2023: “Taiwanese nationals that post videos of themselves smoking cannabis in countries where it is legal can be prosecuted in Taiwan for ‘inducing’ others to use drugs. That’s according to a press release put out by the Ministry of Justice on Wednesday, which says such videos spread rumors that cannabis is ‘harmless’.
