Two Taiwanese allegedly involved in a telecom fraud operation in Malaysia have been deported to Taiwan after being arrested in the Southeast Asian country in April, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said yesterday.
The two suspects, who arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday, were among seven Taiwanese suspects arrested in Malaysia late in April when police raided a private residence in the city of Miri to bust a group suspected of telecom fraud targeting Taiwanese and Chinese, the bureau said.
Malaysian police arrested 24 suspects during the raid, including 16 Chinese and one Malaysian, and also seized laptops and mobile phones, the bureau said.
The police acted on information provided by two Taiwanese who went to Malaysia after being offered part-time jobs, only to find that they were working in an equipment room for the group.
They then managed to escape and reported the case to local police in April.
Malaysian police passed the information to Taiwanese police on April 26, and the Criminal Investigation Bureau sent personnel to help break the case, the bureau said.
The five suspects, who were brought back to Taiwan between May 1 and May 6, have been handed over to prosecutors, the bureau said.
The other two Taiwanese suspects had to stay in Malaysia longer as they were allegedly involved in more serious crimes, such as causing physical harm to others and illegally detaining people, it said.
Several groups of Taiwanese allegedly involved in telecom fraud rings based in third countries, including one that was operating in Malaysia, have been deported to China in recent months despite the protests of Taipei.
However, in this case the bureau cited close cooperation between Taiwanese and Malaysian police as the main reason the suspects were brought back to Taiwan.
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