Police have smashed what they said was the nation's first all-
female gang with the arrest yesterday of the group's leader and her gangster boyfriend.
The "Phoenix Corps" (
The Phoenix Corps reportedly had more than 100 members, mostly high-school students.
Officers from the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) arrested 45-year old Kao Mei-fang (
Bureau officials said Kao and Chu had been living together since 1973. They said Kao was the founder and head of the Phoenix Corp while Chu was the leader of the Tiger Division.
As of press time last night, the couple were still being interrogated by the police.
Officials said yesterday's arrests were the first time the police have arrested a couple who were both gang leaders.
"This all-female gang did everything that a male gang would do so we decided to break up the gang. Our officers began to investigate the gang in February and decided to make a move last night," said Chen Chih-nan (陳志男), a senior officer of the CIB's First Division.
"Although they are all women, Kao and her gang members are extremely brutal and cold hearted," Chen said.
He said Kao had ordered that one girl who wanted to quit be stripped naked by other gang members, dragged into the street and humiliated.
"Kao and her gang members tried to expand their group recently by recruiting more high-school students. We had to stop what they were doing," Chen said.
The police said the "Tiger Division" was involved in extortion, drugs and selling pirated VCDs while the "Phoenix Corp" focused on extorting money from fellow students and companies.
Phoenix members also made money by attending ceremonies and events held by other Bamboo Union groups, such as weddings and funerals.
Police said the arrests of Chu and Kao mean the dissolution of the Tiger Division's gangs.
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