
The year 1993 saw a record volume of drug seizures. Law enforcement agencies seized 1,110 kilograms of heroin, morphine and marijuana (96% were heroin), and 3,357 kilograms of methamphetamine (1,253kilograms were finished products; the rest were half-products and ephedrine, the raw materials), up 133% and 17% respectively from the previous year. In fact, there were more heroin seizures in 1933 then those in the previous nine years combined, and the 1993 figure was a 23-fold increase over the level in 1989. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) built a large, specially-designed storage room for seized drugs; by the end of July 1995, the volume nearly reached 2,000 kilograms, again a record. If this represents 20% of the drugs in the black market, then Taiwan could have an unprecedented quantity of drugs in its history.