- HSI joins Taiwan’s CIB and partners in warning young people to avoid involvement in drug trafficking
USA / TAIWAN – Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration joined the Taiwan Criminal Investigation Bureau’s (CIB) international criminal affairs division and other partners on September 5 in Taipei, Taiwan, to announce the results of a multinational counternarcotics effort dubbed Operation Sunset.
To date, the investigation has resulted in the disruption of a transnational criminal narcotics smuggling ring and combined seizures of nearly 103 pounds of methamphetamine in the United States and South Korea, and nearly 100 pounds of cocaine in Malaysia – totaling about $6 million in street value.
While in the United States, smugglers dissolved crystal methamphetamine in water, placed it in wine bottles and used them to transport the illegal substance to Asia, into countries like Japan and South Korea, where the drug fetches a high price.
Through close cooperation between HSI and partners, 13 suspects were apprehended, all of whom were charged with violating the Organized Crime Prevention Act and the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act of Taiwan.
“The results of this highly successful investigation would not have been possible without the close relationship we share with our friends in Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia, Japan and the US,” said HSI international operations assistant director Ricardo Mayoral. “HSI is committed to working with our partners in the fight against transnational organized crime.”
The Taiwan-based Thento Union Sun gang is one of the prominent transnational crime organizations conducting various illegal activities in the regions, such as drug trafficking, extortion and smuggling. In this case, the gang allegedly recruited young men and women in their 20s to act as cross-border drug couriers, luring them with promises of high pay, free flights, lodging and the chance to travel abroad. Taiwan’s CIB continues to actively establish channels for cooperation and investigation with law enforcement agencies in various countries to combat cross-border drug trafficking cases.
HSI joins Taiwan’s CIB and partners in warning young people to avoid involvement in drug trafficking. Although such offers may seem attractive, those who fall into this trap risk severe penalties. Committing crimes abroad puts one at risk of being imprisoned abroad. The risks of international drug trafficking are high, and the consequences are dire, so HSI warns people against being tempted by short-term gains.
Taiwan’s ministry of justice’s department of international and cross-strait legal affairs coordinated with the US department of justice for mutual legal assistance between Taiwan and the United States, which facilitated the transfer of evidence to Taiwan, including methamphetamine and wine bottles used to smuggle drugs and communication devices seized from suspects.
Contributing partners include the Taiwan Criminal Investigation Bureau; the International Criminal Affairs Division’s First Corps and other local law enforcement agencies; the Department of International and Cross-Strait Legal Affairs; Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice; the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles; HSI Taipei; US Customs and Border Protection; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the FBI; the Los Angeles Police Department; the Korean National Police Agency; the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Narcotics Investigation Team; the Royal Malaysia Police Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department and government of Japan.
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce consists of over 10,000 employees, assigned to 235 offices within the United States and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in US law enforcement.
