At a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Premier Lai Ching-te congratulated the nation's law enforcement units for impressive results from the first wave of a major drug sweep dubbed operation "safe home."
In remarks following a Ministry of Justice (MOJ) briefing on the operation, the premier instructed the ministry to oversee the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office as it plans the operation's next wave. Working together, prosecutors, police, investigators, military police, customs agents and the coast guard must fight narcotics at the source, not only apprehending users and peddlers but disrupting traffickers and manufacturers higher up in the chain. Using sophisticated investigations and thorough evidence-gathering techniques, law enforcement will also be able to deliver higher detention and conviction rates, break up drug cartels, cut off illegal financing, and wipe out illegal drugs to save the nation from the scourge of addiction.
According to the MOJ, the first wave of "operation safe home" focused on buildings and neighborhoods targeted by drug dealers while closing in on drug hotspots associated with criminal organizations and gangs. Agents seized over 4 metric tons of narcotics—the highest of any operation in history—and sought warrants for the detention of more than 278 individuals, of which 208 were approved by the courts. These actions will prove effective at driving drug dealers out of communities and neighborhoods, the ministry said.