Eighty Taiwanese were detained in Paraguay this week for alleged involvement in illegal gambling, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Anna Kao (高安) said that officials from the nation’s consulate-general in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay’s second-largest city, have been in close contact with police over the case and had confirmed that the detained were Taiwanese.
Taiwanese representatives posted to the city have visited the detainees and will provide any necessary assistance, Kao said, adding that they would continue to maintain close contact with the local authorities.
According to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) report yesterday, 57 men and 23 women were detained by police, who suspect they were being exploited as workers for an illegal online gambling operation.
The report cited the prosecutor responsible for the investigation, Alfredo Acosta, as saying the operation involved human trafficking and drugs.
Acosta said the Taiwanese, who reportedly do not speak English, Spanish or Portuguese, lived in cramped conditions, and were exhausted and disoriented when found.
“We are assuming that they were working in online Chinese betting. Their work schedule was during the night and early morning, exactly the business hours in China,” Acosta was quoted as saying in the report.
“They were even likely forced to take certain drugs to stay awake at certain hours,” he was quoted as saying.
Police raided two houses in Ciudad del Este, which is on the border with Brazil, on Wednesday night and on Thursday, where they found the Taiwanese, AFP reported.
Their identification documents showed that most of them arrived in Paraguay as tourists between Nov. 14 and Nov. 29 last year, the agency reported.
Acosta said authorities were seeking those responsible for taking the illegal workers to Paraguay.
One suspect, identified as Ching Waing Lang, 35, has been arrested, AFP said.
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