Police raids break up sophisticated snakehead ring

Police arrested 11 suspected members of a ring involved in smuggling Chinese women in raids in northern Taiwan yesterday morning.

Police carried out the raids on 14 locations in Taipei City, Taipei County, Taoyuan City, Taoyuan County and Keelung City. Suspected ring leader Sun Jung-hua (孫榮華) and the others arrested are currently being held for questioning.

Taipei Prosecutors' Office Prosecutor Chen Hung-ta (陳宏達) said that initial investigations show that the ring has a systematic division of labor, with some members traveling to China to lure women who want to go to Taiwan. Other members lure elderly single men or bachelors and use their names to apply to government agencies for legal documents to get the women into this country as relatives or spouses of the Taiwanese men.

Prosecutors said they suspect that the ring may have even collaborated with Chinese officials to facilitate luring women on a long-term basis.