“This coordinated action against telecommunications and Internet scammers is the largest among law enforcement agencies from both sides of the strait and Southeast Asian countries,” the CIB said. “It also epitomizes the quality of joint crime fighting capabilities.”
The CIB said 410 Taiwanese, 181 mainland Chinese, three Thai, two South Koreans, one Vietnamese and one Cambodian were arrested during raids June 9 on various call centers throughout the region. “The key to halting these fraud rings is to keep track of the call centers, which are the heart of operations,” the bureau added.
A group of 100 Taiwanese suspects is set to be repatriated from Indonesia on a chartered flight June 13, following 122 Taiwanese sent back to Taipei from Cambodia earlier last week, the CIB said.
Originally based in Taiwan and mainland China, many of the fraud rings relocated to Southeast Asia in the wake of closer collaboration between law enforcement authorities from both sides of the strait. This cooperation began after Taipei and Beijing inked the Cross-Straits Agreement on Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance in 2009.
The CIB said Taiwan mobilized more than 800 police officers for the operation.
Write to Elaine Hou at elainehou@mail.gio.gov.tw