TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Police on Thursday (Nov. 3) rescued 32 more individuals who were allegedly kidnapped by an organized crime ring, while three were found to have died after reportedly being tortured by their captors.
On Tuesday (Nov. 1), officers from Tamsui Precinct of the New Taipei City Police Department arrested eight individuals from a suspected fraud ring, led by a man identified as Lu Cheng-i (呂政儀), in an apartment tower on Xinzhi 3rd Road in New Taipei's Tamsui District. At the scene, police rescued 26 people ranging in age from 23 to 58 who had been held against their will as part of a scam to defraud family members and peers.
Following leads developed from the raid on Tuesday, officers from New Taipei City Police Department's Criminal Investigation Corps were dispatched to a building on Qingfeng Road in Taoyuan City's Zhongli District to investigate. Once there, they arrested eight more members of the fraud ring, in this case led by a man identified as Chang Chia-hao (張家豪), reported Liberty Times.
Remains of victim found in Guishan District. (New Taipei City Police Department photo)
Police had been informed that there had been 35 people held captive in Taoyuan. However, when they arrived at the scene, they found just 32 victims still alive.
After conducting an investigation into the whereabouts of the missing three individuals, police discovered they had been reportedly tortured to death and their bodies dumped in Taoyuan's Guishan District. Police later recovered the bodies of two men and one woman in a wooded area of Guishan District.
According to a preliminary investigation, the gang members used handcuffs and belts to restrain victims who refused to hand over their bank deposit books. The captors allegedly refused their captors food, used abusive means to restrain them, and engaged in acts of cruelty.
Remains of victim found in Guishan District. (New Taipei City Police Department photo)
Eight individuals arrested in raid on Taoyuan property on Thursday. (New Taipei City Police Department photo)
