NIA busts illegal migrant worker broker group in Chiayi

Taipei, Oct. 8 (CNA) Authorities in Chiayi County have arrested five individuals suspected of illegally recruiting and arranging work in Taiwan for dozens of Thai nationals, according to the National Immigration Agency (NIA).

In a press release issued Tuesday, the NIA's Chiayi County Service Center said it began investigating the case in July after discovering 29 Thai nationals illegally working in Xikou Township.

During questioning, many of the Thai workers said they had been brought to Taiwan, housed, and even driven to and from their worksites by members of an illegal labor brokerage group headed by a man surnamed Lai (賴), the NIA said.

After gathering additional evidence, immigration officials and Chiayi prosecutors conducted an early morning raid of 10 locations recently, arresting Lai and four other members of the group and 51 Thai nationals working in Taiwan illegally.

Investigators also seized record and accounting books, cell phones and NT$220,000 (US$6,833) in illicit profits from the Taiwanese suspects, the NIA said.

Based on the initial findings of an investigation, the illegal labor brokerage group is believed to have used agents in Thailand and messaging apps to recruit Thai nationals to work in Taiwan, in return for recruitment fees ranging from NT$30,000 to NT$80,000.

After the foreign workers arrived in Taiwan, the group deducted NT$200-NT$400 per day from their wages as a "brokerage fee," as well as NT$100 per day for driving them to and from work and NT$2,000-NT$2,700 per month for rent.

As a result of these fees and deductions, many of the workers recruited by the group arrived in Taiwan already deeply in debt, and reached the end of each month with almost nothing left from their wages, the NIA said.

Lai and the four other members of the group are being investigated for violations of the Immigration Act and the Employment Service Act, the NIA said. They have yet to be charged.