Police in Changhua and Yunlin counties on Thursday arrested 11 Bamboo Union gang members over alleged assault, extortion, infringement of personal liberties and organized crime activities, while they are also suspected to have funded political campaigns.
A National Police Agency operation targeting organized crime ahead of the Nov. 24 nine-in-one elections has made three sets of arrests this year, with Thursday’s being the last before the elections, the Changhua County Police Department said.
The Bamboo Union members arrested included three who are also members of the China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP), the department said.
Photo: Copy by Chang Tsung-chiu, Taipei Times
Two men in custody, Tsai Ping-jui (蔡秉叡), 32, and Lu Chin-lin (呂金霖), 24, were suspected leaders of a violent criminal group allegedly engaged in illegal debt collection and political campaigning, it said.
Tsai and Lu are presidents of Bamboo Union local chapters and members of the CUPP, and their subordinate Hsu Shu-ming (許書銘) is also a CUPP member, it said.
After three months of surveillance, prosecutors authorized arrest warrants, which officers carried out in coordinated early-morning raids, it said.
Investigators recovered loan receipts, accounting documents, ID cards belonging to possible victims, a bokken — a wooden practice sword — sticks and bats, Chinese national flags, and vests bearing gang and CUPP insignia from the suspects’ homes and vehicles, the department said.
Hsu is believed to have recruited young people to attend political rallies arranged by Tsai and Lu, paying each participant NT$1,000 on the condition that they wear CUPP vests and carry Chinese flags, it said, adding that the suspects refused to divulge which political candidates they have supported.
The case has been handed over to the Changhua District Prosecutors’ Office, it said.
Eight CUPP members have been arrested in operations to combat organized crime so far this year, the department said, adding that prior to the arrests on Thursday, 105 people had been identified as high-priority gang members.
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