Lured 50 Taiwanese into Cambodia and arrested female black fish | Taiwan News
Taipei (Taiwan News) – On Monday (August 16), the female mastermind of a smuggling ring that trafficked at least 50 Taiwanese to Cambodia was arrested.
Recently, there has been a sharp increase in the number of human trafficking cases in Cambodia. The investigation by the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) found that there are criminal gangs in Cambodia offering high wages such as typing, forcing them to engage in telecom fraud. According to ETtoday reports, on Monday, CIB officials arrested a 41-year-old surnamed Zhang The female trafficking ringleader and three other suspects, and prevented five Taiwanese victims from traveling to Cambodia.
According to preliminary investigations, Chang, a resident of Changhua City, trafficked at least 50 Taiwanese to Cambodia. Police found that Chang and her associates ran Facebook and Instagram pages called “Side Jobs,” where they offered monthly salaries of NT$100,000 ($3,300) for typing, computer work and server rooms maintenance etc.
First, they will take the victims to the hotel, get their passports and visas, and then send them to Taoyuan International Airport to board a plane out of the country. Throughout the process, the victims were accompanied and monitored by members of the smuggler gang.
On August 15, the police searched the suspect’s residence, seized a notebook that recorded the victim’s travel information, and arrested four people involved in the case, including a 27-year-old and 30-year-old man surnamed Lin, and a 27-year-old Lin. A 21-year-old man surnamed Chen and a 21-year-old man surnamed Xie, Liberty Times reported. The police seized 9 mobile phones, 4 victim passports, 3 documents, 1 notebook, 11 victim accommodation receipts and 10 passport application receipts.
Evidence seized by the police. (Photo by Central News Agency)
Preliminary investigation found that Zhang arranged a total of 50 people to go abroad in the past three months, and Heiyu charged each victim a fee of NT$100,000 from overseas buyers. Police also prevented five other victims from leaving the country.
The CIB pointed out that Zhang is the leader of the Taiwanese black fish gang. Since the beginning of May this year, he has often directed Lin and other members to handle matters such as transportation, passport handling, PCR testing, and booking of air tickets.
CIB officers spoke to three suspects. (Photo by Central News Agency)
One victim, surnamed Xu, was able to escape from his captors, claiming to have health problems. However, a female victim, Wang (Wang), who left the country on the same flight, was not allowed to return to Taiwan until her family paid a NT$400,000 ransom, SET News reported.
Prosecutors are not investigating the suspects for violating the Human Trafficking Prevention Act (Human Trafficking Prevention Act) and Organized Crime Prevention Act (Organized Crime Prevention Act).
Zhang (middle) under police escort. (CIB Photo)