Police in Kaohsiung yesterday conducted a raid to apprehend five alleged members of a criminal gang and rescue a man allegedly held as a hostage, in a case reported to involve a money dispute over a drug deal.
During the raid at a location in Kaohsiung’s Dashe District (大社), gunfire was exchanged as one suspect shot his handgun twice to avoid capture and police officers fired three rounds in return, Fongshan District (鳳山) Precinct investigation unit head Captain Wang Chun-sheng (王春生) said.
“After the shooting, officers managed to encircle and subdue the five suspects, four men and one woman,” Wang said.
“They are suspected of taking away a 24-year-old man surnamed Yu (余) by force, to hold him hostage,” he said.
The gang was led by a man surnamed Ho (何), 39, who allegedly had been trafficking and dealing in narcotics, Wang said.
“They went to grab Yu on Monday because they had a dispute over a drug deal; they claimed that Yu owed them money and did not want to pay up,” Wang said.
“Yu was first taken to a local motel, where he was physically assaulted and had boiling water poured onto his legs,” he said.
“Then, they took him to a residence where he was beaten several times over the past three days,” Wang added.
It was reported that Ho decided to carry out an “execution” of Yu, shooting him twice with a handgun at close range, with one bullet entering the victim’s right shoulder and the other lodging in his chest, Wang said.
The gushots and ensuing commotion led local residents to call the police, who identified the gang because law enforcement officers had been searching for them, he said, adding that this induced the gang to use Yu as a hostage.
Yu’s disappearance had already been reported to the authorities by his family, Wang said.
Knowing the gang had firearms, Kaohsiung police dispatched a SWAT team along with a police investigation unit to rescue the hostage and to conduct a raid on the gang, Wang said.
In the aftermath, officers found narcotics at the location, along with one handgun and two rifles, he said.
As of last night, Yu remained in critical condition in a local hospital, Wang said.
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