Eight arrested for alleged telecom fraud

Taipei, Dec. 2 (CNA) Eight suspects involved in a cross-border telecommunication fraud operation have been arrested following police raids on three fraud call centers in Taichung, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said Monday.

The CIB received a report about two months ago of cross-border telecom fraud call centers established by a ring led by a 39-year- old man surnamed Chen (陳). The ring members allegedly defrauded people in China by posing as public security officers and persuading them to part with their cash, according to the bureau.

The bureau, in conjunction with police in New Taipei and Taichung, formed a task force to investigate the case.

The investigators found that Chen had rented several apartments in the central Taiwan city since February to provide accommodation for the ring members.

After several days of monitoring, police raided three addresses in the city, arresting the eight suspects.

Mobile phones, notebook computers, computer network cards and cash were also seized in the raids, according to the CIB.

Hundreds of people are believed to have fallen victim to the fraudsters, who have reaped nearly NT$10 million (US$327,847) in illegal gains, according to initial police estimates.

After preliminary interrogation, six of the suspects were detained and held incommunicado, while the other two were released on bail, according to the CIB.