Taiwan detains drone maker's executives over Chinese chips allegedly fitted in military drones

Prosecutors in Taoyuan have had the president and the sales director of Jiin Ming Industrial, a Taipei Exchange-listed drone maker, detained on suspicion that the company fitted banned Chinese-made chips and camera lenses into drones it supplied to Taiwan's armed forces. The company confirmed the detention in a stock exchange filing before markets opened on Monday, 12 October 2026.

According to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office, Jiin Ming and its subsidiary Ying Sheng International won several Taiwanese military drone procurement contracts but allegedly broke contract rules that bar Chinese-made components. Prosecutors say the firms installed the prohibited chips and lenses and then submitted false certificates of origin so that the military would pass the drones at acceptance inspection.

Investigators from the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau's Hsinchu County station searched six locations on 8 October, including the offices of Jiin Ming, its subsidiary and a component supplier, as well as the homes of people linked to the case. They questioned vice chairman and president Chien Hao-ting, sales director Chen Yang-cheng, seven employees and one witness, and seized evidence. The case is being handled by the prosecutors office's national security unit.

After questioning through the night, prosecutors arrested Chien and Chen in court at 3 a.m. on 9 October. They are suspected of breaching the National Security Act by knowingly delivering products of mainland Chinese origin for military procurement, of using false business records, and of aggravated fraud involving three or more people. The Taoyuan District Court approved their detention for two months from 9 October and barred them from receiving visits or letters. The other people questioned were released.

In its ruling, the court said Chien held a senior role in the alleged scheme. He denied the allegations before the hearing and later admitted them, but his account did not match what witnesses had said. Chen denied the allegations, and the court found his statements inconsistent. The judge said both men could collude with accomplices or witnesses while the national security investigation continues, and that the number of deals and the quantities sold to the military pointed to a risk of repeat offences.

Jiin Ming said chairman Tsai Hsiang-feng would act as president, that it would cooperate with the investigation, and that its operations and finances were normal. It said metal stamping moulds made up about 85.8 percent of its revenue up to the end of September and drones about 3.3 percent, with defence-related drone orders accounting for about 1.1 percent of total revenue. Export orders were not affected, it said. The company had confirmed the 8 October search in a filing that day but gave no reason for it.

The Taoyuan-based company, once a supplier for Apple's iPod music player, has been moving into military drones and was recently featured by Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper as an example of Taiwanese electronics makers turning to defence work. It has shown a small Viper quadcopter military drone and a jet-powered light fixed-wing drone prototype, both marketed as made in Taiwan.

The case turns on the rule that drones bought by Taiwan's military must not contain Chinese-made parts. Neither prosecutors nor the company have said how many drones were delivered, which units received them, or whether drones already in service will be checked.