Coast Guard officers have arrested seven undocumented migrant workers from Indonesia, along with a Taiwanese man who illegally acted as their employment broker, in Yunlin County, an official told CNA Tuesday.
The broker, surnamed Wu (吳), was driving the group to a building site in Yunlin's Yuanchang Township on the morning of Oct. 31 when they were arrested, according to Li Shui-sheng (李水昇), deputy captain of the Coast Guard Administration's (CGA) Yunlin Investigation Branch.
The Indonesians have since been transferred to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) for deportation, Li said.
Regarding the identities of the arrested migrant workers, Li said the group ranged in age from 25 to 35 and comprised five individuals who had absconded from work on fishing boats and a married couple.
They had been missing for periods of several months to three years, Li said.
According to Li, local CGA and NIA authorities had received a tipoff that Wu was arranging work for undocumented migrant workers and providing them with transportation to building sites, where they earned daily wages of NT$1,200 (US$39.52).
The CGA Investigation Branch said that illegally employing foreign workers is subject to fines of NT$150,000 to NT$750,000 under the Employment Services Act, and that those caught re-offending within five years can face prison terms of up to three years, as well as maximum fines of NT$1.2 million.
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