Taiwan Coast Guard arrests five for smuggling, including army soldier

TAIPEI: The Taiwan Coast Guard on Saturday apprehended five people suspected of smuggling goods from the Kinmen island to China's shores. One of the arrested persons is a soldier in Taiwan's Army, Taiwan News reported.
The Kinmen Islands lie about 10 kilometres away from Xiamen city in China.
The Kinmen Defence Command informed that a non-commissioned officer is suspected of borrowing a fishing boat to carry out a smuggling operation.The arrested people were found with goods like electronics products, shoes, skincare products, and alcohol.
The Taiwan Coast Guard arrested the suspects at around midnight on Saturday. Notably, the suspects were on their way to sell the goods.
Asserting that they would cooperate with the investigation, Kinmen Army officials said that they would severely punish those found to be acting outside the law. "The Army will continue to strengthen education to establish the concept of adherence to the law among officers and soldiers," officials said, according to Taiwan News.
While conducting radar surveillance, the Kinmen Coast Guard identified a suspicious fishing boat 'Shunfeng 99.' The Kinmen-registered fishing boat was seized in the Tashan waters of Kinmen on suspicion of smuggling. Coast patrol officers boarded the vessel and during the inspection, the officers recovered items including electronic supplies, brand-name shoes, famous wines, skin care products, etc
The case is being handled by Kinmen prosecutors who declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation, Taiwan News reported.