This effort led to the October 1999 seizure of 616 kilograms of methamphetamine in Japan and the arrest of 15 people. As a result of another joint DEA-MJIB investigation, Japanese authorities were provided with intelligence that resulted in the seizure of 101 kilograms of methamphetamine and the arrest of 17 people. Taiwan is not a producer of illicit drugs. From January to October 1999, Taiwan authorities seized 70.62 kilograms of heroin, of which 35.6 percent arrived from Thailand, 14.2 percent from Hong Kong, and 10.2 percent from mainland China. Of the 1139.34 kilograms of methamphetamine seized, 68.5 percent came from mainland China and 5.2 percent came from Thailand.
Some heroin is smuggled into Taiwan on container ships.
Both heroin and methamphetamine are smuggled into Taiwan through a variety of methods and routes. Drugs traffickers send couriers and trawlers carrying narcotics from numerous Asian locations to Taiwan's ports and airport. Fishing boats continue to be the principal means of smuggling heroin and methamphetamine from mainland China to Taiwan. The Hazardous Narcotics Prevention Act, implemented in 1998, recognized the importance of rehabilitation in addition to more traditional methods of dealing with drug use. The Act requires users to undergo observation and treatment at narcotics rehabilitation centers.