The suspects, surnamed Wang and Fang, were nabbed at Kaohsiung International Airport late last night.

The men carried between them 12 heroin packets that totaled 982 grams worth about NT$12 million (US$368,000) in the market, police said.

Police said they had received a tip days earlier about a criminal operation that paid drug mules NT$30,000 per heroin pellet smuggled.

Their investigation uncovered that members of the drug trafficking ring entered Cambodia as tourists and purchased large quantities of the illegal substance there.

The heroin was then wrapped in condoms and shaped into balls that Wang and Fang inserted through their anal cavities.

Once in Taiwan, the suspects delivered the contraband to other members of the ring, said police.