Officials yesterday touted the results of a recent sweep against known criminals and gangsters, which they said resulted in 310 arrests, including several organized crime bosses.
National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chen Chia-chin (陳家欽), together with Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) officials, made the announcement at a news briefing in Taipei.
The sweep by law enforcement agencies took place in many parts of the nation on Monday and can be seen a major success, Chen said.
Photo: Chiu Chun-fu, Taipei Times
Among those nabbed were four men affiliated with the Bamboo Union, who are also members of the Chinese Unity Promotion Party (CUPP), a pro-China group led by Chang An-le (張安樂), also known as the “White Wolf.”
Many Heavenly Way Alliance members were also arrested, officials said.
CIB Chief Tsai Tsang-po (蔡蒼柏) said the crackdown focused mostly on Taipei and New Taipei City, where 471 premises were raided based on reports of illegal activities.
“Police officers arrested 32 suspects who are known members of the Bamboo Union and Heavenly Way Alliance. We recovered 2,386g of various narcotics, two modified handguns and 113 bullets,” Tsai said.
After questioning, the 32 suspects would be turned over to prosecutors on charges that include extortion, blackmail, possession of narcotics and breaching the Organized Crime Prevention Act (組織犯罪防制條例), Tsai said.
Preparations over the past few weeks included close surveillance of organized crime gangs in Taipei and New Taipei City before prosecutors could apply for search warrants for the sweep.
The purpose of the sweep was to protect the safety of the nation’s citizens and ensure law and order, as the nation is preparing for political campaigns for November’s nine-in-one elections, Chen said.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
TRANSPORT DISRUPTION: More than 100 ferry services were suspended due to rough seas and strong winds, and eight domestic flights were canceled, the ministry said Tropical Storm Wipha intensified slightly yesterday as it passed closest to Taiwan, dumping more than 200mm of rain in Hualien and Taitung counties, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 11am, Wipha was about 210km southwest of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and was moving west-northwest at 27km per hour (kph). The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 101kph and gusts reaching 126kph, with a 150km radius of strong winds, CWA data showed. Wipha’s outer rainbands began sweeping across Taiwan early yesterday, delivering steady rainfall in the east and scattered showers in other regions, forecasters said. More heavy rain was expected, especially in the eastern