The Drug Transit Mystery

Why has Taiwan been listed as a "drug transit" center by the United States? Why have local law enforcement authorities responded so strongly? In future drug law enforcement efforts, what areas will require special attention?

In the wee hours of the morning of March 2, Taipei time, the US State Department was formally delivering its International Narcotics Control Strategy Report to the Congress. The conclusion to the report listed 31 places as suspected of being "major drug production or transit countries/territories." Taiwan was, along with places like Iran, Burma, and Hong Kong, one of those unfortunate enough to make the list.

That very morning in Taipei, Minister of Justice Ma Ying-jeou held a provisional press conference, at which he stated that he could not accept the US report's conclusion. Two days later, on Monday, Ma held another press conference to restate and support his position in detail.

More than local demand?

In fact, the US has now thrice listed Taiwan as an important drug transit center, and three times the Taiwan authorities have strongly protested. The first time was in 1993, when Premier Lien Chan declared a "War on Drugs," and launched a major effort to confiscate illegal narcotics. In that year the government uncovered 1114 kg of heroin and more than 3300 kg of amphetamines, a major increase over the previous year. Little did anyone expect that the US would reason that this large amount "naturally" exceeded demand in Taiwan, and therefore would conclude that Taiwan must be a transit center for drugs from Southeast Asia.

Under intensive anti-drug sweeps, however, it appears that dealers quickly abandoned Taiwan, and the amount of drugs seized by police fell. In terms of heroin, for example, the take in 1994 was only 680 kg, while it fell further to a mere 262 kg in 1995.

With the dramatic drop in drug volume, it has become clear that the conclusion that Taiwan has an excess of drugs that are being routed to the US is untenable. So this year there were new reasons given for including Taiwan on the list: Taiwan's busy trading ports and geographic position.

In fact, Minister Ma vehemently rejects the logic behind both the "excess drug" theory and the "geographic position" theory. As for the first, statistics show that in 1993, 47,000 persons were convicted for taking drugs, of whom about 13,000 were heroin addicts. If the number of actual users was, say, five times higher (that is, for every user indicted there were four others who evaded the law), then the number of heroin addicts in Taiwan at that time would have been about 60-70,000. Given that one kilo is needed to supply about 22 addicts for a year, then total domestic demand would have been nearly 3,000 kilos, far higher than the amount confiscated.

Still, one might argue, drug trafficking is a secret world, and it is difficult to be sure of the real number of addicts, and the relationship between the amounts confiscated, sold, and transshipped. Under these circumstances, however, a persuasive argument against the charge that drugs are being routed through Taiwan to the US can be made based on price.

Given the current intense anti-drug efforts and heavy sentences, it is difficult to move drugs within Taiwan, and the price of heroin has increased as supply has been unable to keep up with demand. Depending upon how much major suppliers have in stock, one kilo can be sold for NT$15 million. During shortages, the street price can go as high as NT$30 million per kilo. This price is several times that in New York. So it would make no sense for dealers to ignore the huge profits to be made in Taiwan and instead pass through this market and go to all the trouble to take their goods to the States.

As for the "geographical position" argument, there are many routes--by sea or air--direct from Southeast Asia to North America. Also, the free ports of Hong Kong and Singapore lie directly along those routes, and there is no essential reason for drug traffickers to go out of their way to take drugs into Taiwan only to re-export them later.

Moreover, the two cases cited as "evidence" in the US report are not very persuasive. The first, a case of heroin going to the US via Taiwan, happened way back in 1991. The second case--a 1995 incident of the transit of hashish from India--was in fact a case of US and Taiwan authorities working together to permit "controlled exchange" of the drugs. Moreover, after leaving Kaohsiung, the drugs also passed through Pusan in Korea and Yokohama in Japan. Why were other countries, being involved in the same case, using the same route, not put on the transit list, and Taiwan alone was?

Getting to the bottom of things

"Over the last three years, the US has not been consistent in the reasons given for accusing Taiwan. Also, there is a selective double standard at work. That is why we find it so hard to accept this," says Ma, who is known for being a stubborn "Hunan mule" and who wants to get to the bottom of things.

Of course, it is undeniable that Taiwan is one of the busiest places in the world in the global trading system. In addition, demand for narcotics has increased in Taiwan. So the possibility of travelers carrying drugs as they pass through, or of larger-scale smuggling, should not be underestimated. Thus, for example, the daily flight from Bangkok has been facetiously called the "drug transport special." That is why the Executive Yuan's National Anti-Drug Task Force decided that an obligatory announcement should be made on all incoming flights that "drug smuggling into Taiwan is punishable by the death penalty." Minister Ma, worried that some airlines would be unwilling to follow this requirement, sent agents to the airport to interview incoming passengers about the announcement; this was kept up until it was certain that the warning was being given on each and every flight.

"Wherever we can improve, we are doing all we can," states Ma. In recent years the Directorate General of Customs has been constantly upgrading techniques for surveying and inspecting cargo. And there has been no laxity in at-sea patrols along Taiwan's 1000-plus kilometer long coastline, all to keep drugs out of Taiwan.

Special note should be taken of the use of the term "transit" in the US report. A cargo in transit is like a passenger making a brief stopover. There are times when fully loaded containers remain aboard their ships while those ships are in port, and also when containers are briefly placed in bonded warehouses on shore awaiting transfer to another vessel. In neither such instance do such containers ever actually enter Taiwan. Since these do not need to pass through customs, barring some special tip-off, there is no international precedent for inspecting such cargoes. Given that there is really nothing that can be done here, the accusations that Taiwan is a transit point are especially frustrating.

The peak is past

Just as the US report was causing such an uproar in Taiwan, there was good news in 1995 report of the International Narcotics Control Board of the United Nations: Taiwan, which was still listed as a transit point last year, was "cleared" in this year's report, and removed from the list. And even in the US report, a careful reading would show a great deal of positive commentary. For example, the report describes Taiwan's law enforcement efforts as "aggressive" at least four times.

"Affirmation by others is not as important as affirmation of one's self," argues Ma Ying-jeou. As for how effective anti-drug efforts are in Taiwan, the numbers tell the story. The best base line for statistical comparisons is 1990, when the drug problem in Taiwan became apparent for the first time after amphetamines were made controlled substances and amphetamine use began to be included in narcotics crime statistics. Beginning in that year, figures for cases, arrests, and confiscations rose steadily, peaking in 1993. Thereafter there was a rapid decline, creating a dramatic "U-turn" in the situation (see chart).

Of the statistics, the most gratifying is the drop in the number of teenage users. This may be due to the fact that, as the crackdown on drugs has forced prices up, formerly inexpensive amphetamines have jumped to NT$4-6000 per gram. It is no longer possible for video game arcades and various "special" businesses to expose kids to drugs free of charge, thereby greatly reducing the possibility that young people will unwittingly become addicted to drugs.

"From the data it appears that the peak period has passed. But drugs are still widespread," says Minister Ma, who can reel off a long list of drug-related statistics. The situation today is somewhat better than in 1992-93. Ma's ultimate goal is to force the number of arrests and amount confiscated down to the pre-1989 level, so that drug use returns to being an isolated phenomenon.

Winning is the only thing

Still, the most terrible thing about drugs is the difficulty of escaping from addiction. Currently there are more than 16,000 people in prison purely for drug use, accounting for 41% of the incarcerated population. If the number of people in prison for selling drugs is included, the total would approach 25,000. The huge influx of drug-related convicts has filled the prisons to bursting, and, owing to the special needs of addicts for protection in kicking the habit, five prisons (in Yunlin, Chiayi, Ilan, Pingtung, and Penghu) have been specially designated for convicted drug users. Some people have mused that the reason the number of people arrested for drug-related crimes has fallen over the past few years is that most users are already behind bars.

The problem is, when an addict is released three to five years later, will he or she be able to avoid the temptation of making the same mistake? Given the current recidivism rate for drug offenders of 46%, the outlook is not especially optimistic.

"Law enforcement alone cannot get to the root of the problem," says Ma, who is currently making an all-out effort to get the proposed "Drug Prevention Regulations" through the Legislative Yuan. Unlike the old anti-drug laws, which allowed for a death sentence for three-time offenders, the new regulations take cognizance of the special situation of drug users, who are at once "criminal" and "ill." Punishment is being replaced by inducements to quit, with special emphasis being put on restoring the user's psychological health.

Still more significant is the idea that "prevention is better than cure." Young people are being educated about the dangers of drug use, so that they stay far away from temptation. In other words, ultimate success will only come about through the three avenues of "refusal" by those who have not tried drugs, "confiscation" of drugs from shippers and dealers, and "rehabilitation" off drugs for those who are already addicted.

The first stage of the anti-drug campaign--preventing the situation from deteriorating--has already proved successful. But success at this stage creates its own problems. Now that drugs have been made so scarce that prices have skyrocketed, if there is even slight relaxation in vigilance, then dealers will reap windfall profits. They could then use the money to expand their organizations and even upgrade their firepower. There are many precedents of countries where drug-related problems actually got worse after anti-drug efforts intensified. There is no turning back in this "Second Opium War." "We have no choice but victory; losing is not an option," is how Ma Ying-jeou puts it.

Beneath the thin wrapping paper are bricks of very pure heroin. Each brick weighs about 350 grams, and has a street value above NT$5 million.

Drug seizures only treat the symptoms. Only healthy minds can resist the temptations of narcotics. Can the young people in drug rehabilitation centers find new lives there? （photo by Diago Chiu）