The National Immigration Agency (NIA) yesterday said it has dismantled an illegal labor brokerage ring that allegedly recruited illegal migrant workers and visa overstayers for day labor and skimmed their wages.
A total of 33 suspects, including brokers, employers and workers, have been sent to prosecutors for investigation.
The NIA’s Taichung City Specialized Operation Brigade said in a statement that while investigating a brawl involving Indonesian nationals in the city, officers uncovered links to illegal brokerage and hiring activities.
Photo: CNA
Following a series of investigations, they found that a Taiwanese man, surnamed Hung (洪), the head of a construction company, allegedly led the ring. Hung has since last year been suspected of recruiting absconded migrant workers and visa overstayers, and sending them to jobs such as cleaning, hauling and stone breaking.
Hung allegedly took a daily cut of NT$500 to NT$1,100 (US$16.44 to US$36.17) from each worker. At its peak, the ring dispatched more than 50 workers, generating about NT$2 million in illicit gains over four months, the brigade said.
Hung’s Indonesian spouse, surnamed Hou (侯), allegedly helped recruit 27 Indonesian nationals and received a commission of NT$81,000, they added.
In early May, NIA officers searched Hung’s office in Taichung after obtaining a court warrant, seizing computers, mobile phones, contracts and ledgers as evidence, brigade deputy captain Tang Yu-tai (黨昱泰) said.
Thirty-three suspects — two employers, four labor brokers and 27 undocumented workers — were referred to the Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office in mid-May.
Asked why the case was made public more than four months later, Tang said the brigade could only release the information after receiving approval from prosecutors.
As of Sept. 18, the brigade had apprehended 245 illegal employers, 96 illegal brokers and 282 illegal workers this year. It pledged to continue cracking down on illegal brokerage rings.
Under Article 54 of the Employment Service Act (就業服務法), it is unlawful to refer foreign workers to third-party jobs without proper authorization, and those who contravene the law face a maximum fine of NT$500,000.
Article 64 of the act states that offenders who profit from such activities could face up to three years in prison, detention with hard labor, and/or a maximum fine of NT$1.2 million.
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