Cross-Straits joint action cracks drug trafficking case

Law enforcement agents from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan have jointly cracked a drug trafficking case, confiscating 512 kilograms of ketamine and capturing 20 suspects, the mainland Ministry of Public Security (MPS) announced on Monday.

It is the first time for agents rom the mainland and Taiwan to conduct anti-drug operations on the sea. The suspects included five from Taiwan, with the rest from south east Asian countries.

Liu Yuejin, director of the MPS's Narcotics Control Bureau, said agents discovered in June 2012 that a group were trafficking goods in cargo ships.

In May this year, the bureau informed Taiwan authorities and the two sides agreed to work on the case together.

After months of investigation, the agents raided a cargo ship carrying Panama flag on Sept. 25 while it was on its way to Taiwan.

The agents found 512 kilograms of ketamine and more than 800 boxes of cigarettes in a cache inside the ship's oil tank.