A Malaysian backpacker was arrested on suspicion of acting as a money mule when he prepared to receive NT$1 million (US$30,681) in cash in Chiayi City last week, local police said earlier this week.
Someone who was allegedly defrauded of millions of New Taiwan dollars reported the case to the police a few days ago, the Chiayi City Second Police Precinct said.
The fraudsters told the victim that he needed to pay an additional NT$1 million in cash to retrieve his money. That prompted the victim to cooperate with the police, pretending to agree to the payment, the police said.
Photo: Chen Kuan-pei, Taipei Times
The two parties agreed to meet at Linsen East Road in Chiayi City around noon on Saturday for the money handover, the police added.
When the Malaysian man arrived to collect the money at the agreed upon time, he was ambushed and arrested on the spot by the police.
The 40-year-old Malaysian man is believed to be a money mule for a fraud ring. He came to Taiwan on Nov. 9 under the pretext of sightseeing, the police said.
The man did not have a passport on him. The police suspected that it was taken by a fraud group to prevent him from double-crossing them and absconding with the money.
The Malaysian man said that he came to Taiwan as a backpacker, browsed Facebook and saw a high-paying, part-time job advertisement, which he applied for with the intention of earning living expenses.
The man told police that he would receive a commission each time he completed a task. He said he was unaware that his actions were illegal, the police said.
The man was found to have received a fake ID, mobile phone, signature and other documents at the Taoyuan High-Speed Rail Station on Saturday morning. He then took the high-speed rail south to Chiayi to get the victim’s money, law enforcement authorities said
After being questioned by police, the suspect was transferred to the Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office on suspicion of fraud. The Chiayi District Court approved the office’s request for his detention on Sunday.
Police recently discovered that some fraud syndicates were recruiting and using individuals from Southeast Asia as money mules by offering high rewards, they said.
These people are chosen because, after handling large sums of money over a short period, they can easily leave the country to avoid detection, the police added.
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