New Taipei City has taken in 40 migrant workers allegedly controlled by a gang of criminals who are suspected of operating an underground employment brokerage. Prosecutors were questioning five Taiwanese suspects in connection with the case.
In raids carried out on Monday, law enforcement officials questioned the migrant workers, 30 women and 10 men, after taking them into custody to check their identifications and record their statements.
It was discovered that 39 were Indonesian and one Vietnamese, and that most of them were illegal migrant workers who had absconded from their legal contracts, New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office spokesman Hsieh Tsung-fu (謝宗甫) said.
After questioning by prosecutors, the migrant workers were transferred to National Immigration Agency (NIA) facilities to be processed and deported to their home nations.
The gang was headed by 57-year-old Chen Chien-chih (陳健智), along with two associates surnamed Yeh (葉) and Lee (李), prosecutors said.
The five suspects were held after raids on four locations in New Taipei City’s Shulin District (樹林).
New Taipei City prosecutors coordinated the raids with the NIA, and local and military police, Hsieh said.
Chen and his associates ran an underground employment brokerage and made profits by contracting the migrant workers to temporary jobs, mostly as family caregivers or manual laborers at private businesses, according to investigators
The workers were paid NT$1,800 per day, from which Chen would deduct NT$600 as a brokerage fee, Hsieh said.
Chen and his associates allegedly housed the migrant workers in a six-story building subdivided into 60 small rooms that served as the living quarters of the migrant workers and staff working for Chen’s operation.
Chen and his associates allegedly provided the migrant workers with amphetamines and other narcotics to feed their addictions and to better control the workers, who were transported to their jobs in vehicles driven by security staff hired by the gang, Hsieh said.
Prosecutors said Chen is also suspected of raping some of the female migrant workers, threatening to report them to the NIA for working illegally if they did not comply.
Chen also made a profit by charging rent for the small living quarters.
The migrant workers were charged NT$10,000 per month for a room with air conditioning and NT$5,000 for a room with a fan but no air conditioning, Hsieh said.
After questioning, Chen was detained, while the other four suspects were released on bail of between NT$30,000 and NT$50,000.
Prosecutors said they intend to charge the suspects with operating an organized criminal ring, distribution of illegal drugs and rape.
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