Man arrested for carrying meth stash out of the country

[Hydra]

Man arrested for carrying meth stash out of the country

2015/05/27 16:42:33

(Photo courtesy of the Aviation Police Bureau)

Taipei, May 27 (CNA) A man was arrested for trying to carry 5.3 kilograms of methamphetamines out of Taiwan to Australia, aviation police said Wednesday.

It was the biggest haul of drugs seized from an outbound passenger in Taiwan in recent years, police said.

The 37-year-old suspect, identified only by his surname Tu (杜) , was scheduled to depart for Sydney from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 11 p.m. on Tuesday.

The hidden drugs were detected in his checked luggage by the X-ray machine in the airport's departure hall, but Tu had already entered the restricted area of the airport when he was apprehended.

After he was detained, Tu claimed that a friend had asked him to carry something out of the country and that he did not know that drugs were hidden in his luggage.

Tu was turned over to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office for allegedly violating the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act.

(By Chiu Chun-chin and Lilian Wu)