42 Taiwanese phone fraud suspects deported from Philippines
2015/09/29 22:26:58
Taipei, Sept. 29 (CNA) Forty-two suspected members of a cross-border phone fraud ring arrested by a joint investigative team of Taiwanese and Philippine police earlier this month were deported by the Philippines and sent back to Taiwan Tuesday.
The team started its operations about a year ago after receiving information about the cross-border scam ring led by a 37-year-old man surnamed Lin, and members he recruited from Taiwan and China.
The phone fraud ring was busted in early September when the Taiwan-Philippine investigative team raided 37 locations in Taiwan and the Philippines.
Lin and 13 of his gang in Taiwan, as well as 68 members of the fraud ring in the Philippines, were arrested during the raids.
Aside from the 68 suspects, including 43 Taiwanese and 25 mainland Chinese, Philippine police found cash equivalent to NT$12.79 million, two sedans, 40 gateways (Internet equipment), data of victims, and phone fraud coaching manuals at hideouts in Cebu.
According to the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), the ring had targeted potential victims in mainland China. The ring members would impersonate clerks of telecommunications, insurance or power companies, prosecutors or law enforcement officials, to obtain information on the victims' bank accounts or ask them to transfer money to the ring's accounts.
After completing judicial procedures in the Philippines, police from Taiwan, together with their Philippine colleagues, escorted 42 of the Taiwanese suspects back to Taiwan and delivered them to the Taichung Prosecutors Office.
The remaining Taiwanese suspect was detained by the Philippine police for involvement in other criminal cases there.
(By K.H. Yu and Lillian Lin)
