Five crew members, including the Chinese captain surnamed Yang, were accused of smuggling 65 tons of frozen tripe from China to Taiwan.

The Keelung District Court quickly concluded the trial, and sentenced Yang and others to imprisonment ranging from May to June for the crime of illegally importing quarantine objects in violation of the Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Animal Infectious Diseases.

(Photo by reporter Lin Jiadong)

[Reporter Lin Jiadong/Report from Keelung] Five crew members, including the Chinese captain Yang, were accused of smuggling 65 metric tons of frozen tripe from China to Taiwan. Suspects prosecuted.

The Keelung District Court concluded the trial quickly. Today, Yang and others were sentenced to imprisonment ranging from May to June for the crime of illegally importing quarantine objects in violation of the Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Animal Infectious Diseases.

This rare case of smuggling 65 metric tons of frozen tripe by a Chinese fishing boat occurred in mid-September last year. The northern branch of the Coast Guard received a tip-off that a Chinese fishing boat without a name was sailing slowly and suspiciously off the coast of Hsinchu, my country. Dispatch freshwater sea patrol team to intercept.

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The sea patrol team boarded and inspected the cabin and found a large number of frozen tripe in the freezer. There were Chinese simplified characters printed on the carton. It was suspected that the captain surnamed Yang and 4 people surnamed Lin, Chen, Wang and Chen The crew, who came to Taiwan from smuggling frozen tripe from China, were seized by the Coast Guard before they could be connected to the fishing boat, and they were detained in the detention room of Wanlima in New Taipei City.

The Keelung District Prosecutor's Office rushed to the court to charge Yang and others for committing crimes against smuggling before the three-month detention period expired and they were deported.

While in custody, five people including Yang denied smuggling and insisted that they entered Taiwan's territorial waters by mistake. However, the prosecution had specific criminal evidence that Yang and others had smuggled 65 tons of frozen tripe livestock products, and Yang and others pleaded guilty and confessed to the smuggling.

Prosecutors determined that Yang and other five people smuggled China's frozen tripe animal products and prosecuted them for crimes such as violating the Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Diseases.

The Keelung District Court held that Yang and the other five violated Article 41, Item 1 of the Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Diseases, "Illegally Importing Quarantine Objects".