Convicted marijuana cultivator receives a sentence of 10.5 years following evasion of 2020 judgement
In a significant court ruling, a Nepalese man known as a cannabis kingpin, Chhetri Ganesh Roka, was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison on August 26, 2022, at the Shilin District Court. The sentencing was based on Roka's activities after he went on the run in 2020, which included expanding his growing operation 10-fold.
Roka, who was a fugitive since July 2020, when he failed to report for a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence, was found with 291 cannabis plants during police raids in Taoyuan and New Taipei City. However, the exact locations of these raids were not specified in the article.
The court's ruling is subject to appeal, and no information about the legal representation for Roka during the trial was provided.
The Third Special Police Corps also raided a cannabis farm in New Taipei City's Tamsui District, but the exact location of this farm was not disclosed. Santiago Alfonso Balado Yrizar, who was found guilty of manufacturing marijuana and using a fake license plate, supplied his cannabis farm with plants and equipment from Roka.
Balado Yrizar's sentences were suspended for five years due to his cooperation with the police. The estimated value of the 291 plants is NT$20 million (US$650,852).
In a related case, Ma Yu-chieh, a Taiwanese coconspirator of Roka, was given 14-and-a-half years for the distribution of a Category 2 narcotic. However, there are no search results or available information identifying Ma Yu-chieh as an individual involved in the distribution of a category 2 drug and sentenced to 14.5 years in prison. No information about the legal representation for Ma Yu-chieh during the trial was provided in the article.
A photo from the Taipei Times was mentioned in the article, but no information about the content of the photo was provided. All sentences are subject to appeal.
