TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan’s Customs Administration and the National Police cooperated in a joint sting project this week to shut down an illegal firearm smuggling operation in Taiwan.



It was reported on May 5, that the operation, carried out in Sanxia District of New Taipei resulted in the seizure of 102 handguns and 5 automatic and semi-automatic rifles, one shotgun, and one sub-machine gun along with 12,378 rounds of ammunition. The guns are reportedly valued at over US$1.3 million dollars.



The authorities were alerted to the storage site and the smuggling operation after the weapons were discovered in a shipping crate stashed inside two large molding machines at the port of Keelung on Sunday, April 29, reports UDN.

The pick-up of the shipment was delayed until Friday May 4, reportedly because members of the operation were suspicious they were being monitored.



Police were in fact monitoring the shipment for almost five whole days, before a 24 year old surnamed Chen (陳) came to receive the guns. Investigators followed Chen to the warehouse in Sanxia where the bust was made Monday evening.



The owner of the warehouse and five accomplices were arrested in the operation, reports Liberty Times. The report says that in recent years, smugglers have sometimes hidden guns inside large molding machines imported on cargo ships, but that in recent years customs officer have adopted much more rigorous standards for inspection.



The bust is the largest seizure of firearms in recent years, with one officer remarking that there were enough guns in the shipment to outfit a small army. UDN reports that the shipment of weapons had arrived from Hong Kong.



(CNA Image)



(CNA Image)



The large molding machines used to conceal the firearms (CNA Image)