Taiwanese authorities arrested a 35-year-old Thai woman who works as a Muay Thai coach after suspecting her of being hired to smuggle drugs by swallowing 72 heroin capsules into her stomach. She had traveled from Thailand to Kaohsiung. Authorities kept her under hospital supervision for 10 days until all capsules were extracted, weighing a total of 289.1 grams with an estimated black market value of about 3.6 million New Taiwan dollars.
The Crime Investigation and Prevention Unit of Taiwan’s Coast Guard in Kaohsiung received intelligence about a transnational drug smuggling network, indicating that foreigners might be concealing drugs inside their luggage or bodies to smuggle narcotics into Taiwan.
Officials coordinated with Kaohsiung Customs, Aviation Police, Immigration, and local police to form a special task force to track suspects. They identified the suspect as a 35-year-old Thai female Muay Thai coach preparing to travel from Thailand to Taiwan by swallowing drug capsules inside her body.
On 6 April, officers intercepted and arrested the woman immediately upon her arrival at Kaohsiung Xiaogang Airport, then transferred her to a hospital under supervision for thorough examination.
X-ray scans revealed numerous oval-shaped objects inside her abdomen. Authorities concluded these were drug capsules swallowed to evade airport security checks.
Inspection showed that all capsules were wrapped in multiple layers of condoms and heat-shrink plastic to prevent the narcotics from contacting the body. Medical procedures were then used to naturally expel the capsules from her system.
Because the woman was a Muay Thai coach with a strong body from rigorous training, authorities enhanced security measures by maintaining 24-hour surveillance to prevent escape, while the process of capsule extraction took as long as 10 days.
Eventually, authorities recovered all 72 suspected capsules, which were verified as heroin—a Schedule 1 narcotic under Taiwan law—with a total weight of 289.1 grams and a black market value of approximately 3.6 million New Taiwan dollars.
Officials noted that smuggling drugs by swallowing capsules carries great risk; if the packaging tears or stomach acids corrode it, the drugs could rapidly enter the body and cause severe poisoning, potentially resulting in death.
The case proceeded under Taiwan’s Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act. The suspect was handed over to the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office for prosecution. The prosecutors filed charges in July, and the court ordered the Thai woman’s detention during the legal proceedings.
Authorities believe the woman may have been hired by a drug trafficking network to transport heroin into Taiwan and are expanding the investigation to identify the handlers and related trafficking networks behind the smuggling attempt.
/sourceCTWANT/Epoch Times