BIRD-FEED SHOP SELLING MARIJUANA

The owner of a bird-feed shop in southern Taiwan was arrested for
selling marijuana seeds in the guise of pigeon feed, the Coast Guard
Administration said yesterday.

Administration law enforcement agents raided a feed shop in Luchu,
Kaohsiung County Friday afternoon and arrested the owner, Chuang Yung-
sen, 49, and seized 39.8kg of marijuana seeds.

Police said that the seizure was the largest in years. The seeds, if
germinated, could yield a profit of about NT$4 billion (US$116
million), they added.

According to law, marijuana seeds can be used as bird feed as long as
they are first heated to render them incapable of germinating.

The interior of the seeds are sometimes used in Chinese medicine or
food additives. Taiwan currently allows the import of such seeds if
they are verified as having been baked in the same location where they
were harvested.

Administration officials said that they were tipped off last year that
the shop was selling marijuana seeds. They managed to get hold of some
of the seeds and sent them to the Investigation Bureau for analysis.
They were later confirmed to be live marijuana seeds.

Chuang, who has run the shop for more than 20 years, told police that
he only sells the seeds to established customers and has already sold
more than 10 kilograms from the current stock.

Police said that the marijuana seeds had been imported from mainland
China.

Chuang told investigators that he brought the seeds for NT$65 per
kilogram from wholesalers and sold them for NT$100 per kilogram. The
seeds are used to feed racing pigeons, Chuang said, adding that birds
on this diet are hardier and more likely to fly back to its their own
cages.

Police noted that five to eight live marijuana seeds sell for NT$100
in local pubs, and if the more than 39.8kg of seeds were all live and
had been planted, they would have resulted in a huge harvest.

Chuang claimed that he didn't know that the seeds were live. Police
suspected that some of the seeds he sold may have already been
planted, and they are continuing to find out more about the upstream
suppliers.