Two people at a tech company in Miaoli have been indicted in a case that dates back 2021, when a large illegal shipment of a drug known as laughing gas was seized at Taiwan’s border, prosecutors said Thursday.
In a statement, the Miaoli District Prosecutors Office said the company’s owner surnamed Wei (?) and an employee surnamed Hsiao (?) were indicted on charges of attempting to obtain unlawful gain by fraud.
The charges stemmed from a case in 2021, when Keelung Customs officers intercepted and seized 54 tons of nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, which had been shipped in three containers from Hong Kong, prosecutors said.
The contents of the containers had been falsely declared as shielding gases, which are used in industrial welding to prevent bubbles and splatters, according to prosecutors.
The 54 tons of laughing gas, which could have filled 10,800 5-liter canisters, was the single largest volume ever seized by customs officers in Taiwan, prosecutors said.
A special task force assigned to the case later obtained a warrant to search the tech company in Miaoli, and Wei and Hsiao were summoned for questioning, prosecutors said.
They both denied any involvement in the case, and they said the laughing gas may have been mistakenly shipped to Taiwan by the seller, according to prosecutors.
After careful examination of the relevant documents, however, the task force concluded that the two suspects had sought to smuggle the laughing gas into Taiwan for illegal gain, prosecutors said.
In Taiwan, the government has banned the illegal sale, purchase and use of nitrous oxide.
The gas is used legitimately in hospitals, at dental surgeries and in professional kitchens, but supplying it for its psychoactive effects is illegal.
Excessive inhalation of the gas could cause breathing difficulties, chest tightness and even death, according to authorities.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel