Law enforcement organizations deployed 4,000 officers nationwide on Friday evening to interdict organized crime activity ahead of the Nov. 28 elections and prevent transnational repression, Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) Commissioner Chiu Shao-chou (邱紹洲) said yesterday.
Chiu said the operation was launched after an investigation into local suspected accomplices of independent lawmaker May Chin’s (高金素梅) aide Chang Chun-chieh (張俊傑), who fled after being released on bail in a case involving alleged violations of the National Security Act (國家安全法).
Investigators said the suspects had links to organized crime groups, prompting police to launch coordinated raids and inspections of suspected gang hideouts across Taiwan on Friday night, he said at a news conference.
Photo: CNA
Chiu said Friday’s operation, in which more than 4,000 officers were mobilized nationwide targeting 750 locations, identified 337 criminal cases and arrested 320 suspects. Unlike routine expanded police inspections, the operation specifically targeted businesses and locations frequented by gang members suspected of acting as local operatives, he said.
He said that the investigations and arrests would not operate on a set schedule, adding that police would trace criminal networks to their roots, dismantle operations and cut financial lifelines. All suspected illegality would be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted, he added.
The CIB’s Anti-Gang Division Chief Yue Ying-tsung (岳瀛宗) said the operation had two main objectives: maintaining public order ahead of the elections and suppressing organized groups linked to foreign entities.
He said police were specifically targeting local gang members suspected of acting as accomplices, citing recent cases in which gangs allegedly colluded with foreign forces to help wanted fugitives evade arrest and go into hiding. Investigations have identified the involvement of several gangs, he added.
Yue said the operation was part of an ongoing effort to systematically combat organized crime, placing particular emphasis on identifying local accomplices.
The local elections would see voters in the country’s 22 cities and counties electing officials to nine types of local government posts, including mayors, county commissioners, and city and county councilors.
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