Taiwan arrests 12 Vietnamese migrants for drug abuse

By Tuan Hoang   December 13, 2018 | 05:01 pm PT
Taiwan arrests 12 Vietnamese migrants for drug abuse
A man using synthetic drugs. Photo by kunanon/Shutterstock.
12 Vietnamese migrants were allegedly found taking synthetic drugs like amphetamine and ketamine in Taiwan.

The Taiwan Times reported that the Vietnamese nationals, eight men and four women, were arrested for taking the illegal substances at a shrimp farm in the Penghu Archipelago on December 12.

The Penghu police first identified an illegal Vietnamese migrant, whose last name is Nguyen, visiting the shrimp farm for entertainment, based on citizens’ complaints.

On December 11, Nguyen and his friends went to the farm again and police smelled ketamine outside their room. The police raided the room and found eight men and four women, but they denied taking drugs. Nguyen tried to hide a tray of drugs but police found 0.28 grams of amphetamine, 0.52 grams of ketamine and 27 grams of drug-laced coffee powder.

Among the 12 people arrested, seven men and two women are illegal migrant workers, police said. Of three remaining migrants, two were new migrant wives in Taiwan.

According to the Department of Overseas Labor, Vietnam has sent about 67,000 people to work in Taiwan in 2017, which is 50 percent of the total Vietnamese sent to work overseas in the same year. By the end of 2017, there were 206,000 Vietnamese people working in Taiwan.

 
 
go to top