Taiwan arrests customs official over smuggling of Japanese beef+

TAIPEI, April 23 Kyodo -
A Taiwan customs official is in custody after allegedly covering up the
smuggling of high-grade beef from Japan into Taiwan in defiance of a mad cow
disease ban, officials and newspaper reports said.
Tang Lung-sheng, a section head at the Taipei Customs Office, is alleged to
have protected the smuggling operation that brought in more than 5,000
kilograms of Matsusaka beef over more than a year.
After intercepting the latest shipment Wednesday, prosecutors alleged that
frozen meat importer Chang Shih-chun, 52, and others carried the beef in
personal luggage on a weekly basis and that Tang ensured they passed through
customs smoothly.
Chang would then sell the beef to restaurants at more than twice the price he
paid in Japan, prosecutors said.
Health and agricultural officials are now attempting to determine where the
beef was sold, officials said.
Tang denied involvement in the operation, according to media reports, but he
was detained as investigators looked for evidence of accomplices among his
colleagues, the United Daily News reported.
Chang was released on bail.
Matsusaka beef has a high fat content and is one of the most expensive Japanese
beef varieties. It has been banned in Taiwan since an outbreak of BSE in Japan
in 2001.
Beef imports are a sensitive issue in Taiwan.
The government remains mired in disagreement with the U.S. government over
restrictions on, and definitions of, beef offal.
Legislators across the political divide and consumer groups have been quick to
attack the government over any relaxation on beef imports.
==Kyodo
2010-04-23 23:43:54


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