Premier Lin Chuan visited the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office today to recognize law enforcement officials responsible for seizing 181 kilograms of ketamine earlier this month. Expressing affirmation and pride in the officials, the premier said the success of this operation allows the public to see the progress of the national drug campaign as well as the commitment to public safety by judicial and prosecutorial agencies.
According to the Ministry of Justice, the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office directed an operation involving the coast guard and police that led to the August 4 seizure of 181 kilograms of ketamine on National Freeway No. 3 at the 74.6 kilometer mark in Taoyuan City. This haul, with a street value of NT$180 million (US$6 million) and enough to supply up to 150,000 users, would have been extremely harmful to the public had it not been taken out of circulation. The bust follows another massive haul in March when the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office seized 551 kilograms of transported ketamine.
Premier Lin said the latest operation also proves the effectiveness of the government's new-generation anti-drug strategy as investigators used big data analysis and information from the highway electronic toll collection system to break the case. The regional joint drug prevention system, another component of the strategy, also came into play, showing that the drug campaign is steadily fulfilling objectives and yielding concrete results.
The premier encouraged law enforcement agencies (prosecutors, police, investigators, military police, the coast guard and customs) and the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health and Welfare to continue sharing intelligence and working together to produce more results going forward. This type of cooperation will build public confidence in drug enforcement agencies and society as a whole, while making Taiwan a model of public safety and law and order.