Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/21
By: Huang Li-yun and Evelyn Kao

Photo courtesy of the National Immigration Agency

Taipei, Jan. 21 (CNA) Seven people suspected of being behind the disappearance of 148 Vietnamese nationals who arrived in Taiwan as “tourists” last month have been arrested, a National Immigration Agency (NIA) official said Monday.

Among the individuals arrested, the three main suspects are suspected of being snakeheads and involved in human trafficking while four were cash mules, said Hsieh Wen-chung (謝文忠), head of the NIA’s Southern Taiwan Administration Corps.

The seven will be handed over to the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office for investigation into suspected violations of the Immigration Act, the Human Trafficking Prevention Act, the Criminal Code and the Employment Service Act, according to Hsieh.

The NIA and police authorities are also pursuing four of their accomplices in Vietnam through the international judicial assistance system and will continue to look for others involved in the case, Hsieh said.    [FULL  STORY]