Taipei police rescued nine foreign women forced into prostitution in a recent operation and arrested the alleged mastermind behind the prositution gang.
After collecting intelligence over several months, the police said yesterday that several places were raided, including properties in New Taipei City.
During the operation, six suspects were arrested, including a Taiwanese man surnamed Chen (陳), who is believed to be the head of the prostitution ring, police officials said.
The rescued women are from Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam, the Taipei City Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division said.
The suspects are being held by New Taipei City prosecutors after initial police questioning, police said.
Acting on tips from the public, the police initially arrested a Taiwanese man surnamed Wu (吳), who was in charge of the women, they said.
Based on further information, they later tracked down the head of the gang, the police said.
The investigation found that Chen promised women from Southeast Asian countries work in Taiwan, the police said.
However, when the women arrived, their passports were taken away and gang members confined them to suites or motels, they said.
The gang was found to use drugs to control the women, forcing them into prostitution, the police said, adding that the victims also included “runaway” migrant workers.
The police found that the gang had placed ads on online forums, with prices ranging from NT$1,800 to NT$3,000, they said.
In related news, 18 Taiwanese arrested as part of an alleged multinational fraud ring have been detained in Indonesia and are awaiting repatriation, North Sumatran authorities in said.
In a joint raid conducted by Indonesian and Taiwanese police, 78 suspects were arrested, including 24 Taiwanese.
Members of the ring posed as anti-corruption police and prosecutors claiming to be investigating corruption cases as a way of extorting money from Chinese and Taiwanese victims, authorities said.
The ring reportedly stole up to US$1 million in the one month it is believed to have operated.
The Indonesian immigration bureau has already repatriated 34 Chinese and six Taiwanese suspects.
North Sumatran authorities said that 20 Chinese and 18 Taiwanese suspects remain at the Medan immigration detention center.
The authorities said they are waiting for the suspects’ home countries to cover the price of air tickets and repatriations before moving ahead.
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