Taipei police yesterday arrested former Four Seas Gang (四海幫) leader Tsai Kuan-lun (蔡冠倫) and 11 alleged gang members on suspicion of acting as loan sharks.
Lin Ming-tso (林明佐), head of Taipei City Police Department's Criminal Investigation Corps First Division, said police had been investigating the case for months. He said Tsai had been using his “reputation” to threaten victims and settle illegal loan transactions.
Tsai was the first gangster in Taiwan to be arrested and sent to the prison on Green Island without trial under a government campaign in 1984 to rid the nation of gangster and criminal activities. He also participated in the legislative elections in 1992 and 1995, but lost in both cases.
Yesterday was Tsai's birthday.
“Today is my 70th birthday. This is certainly not what I was expecting,” Tsai said when he was handcuffed and escorted to the police station. “My family was planning to celebrate my birthday with a big dinner, but now it is impossible.”
Lin said that even though Tsai claims to have “retired,” he remained a leading Four Seas Gang figure upon whom other gang members relied for advice.
Police established his connection with the underworld by wiretapping his phone.
“We have sufficient evidence to support what we did,” Lin said.
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