TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Authorities in Yilan County arrested three illegal brokers and 57 Thai nationals in a dawn raid, uncovering an overcrowded farm compound operating like an underground labor market.
The National Immigration Agency said it received a tip that a restaurant was hiring overstaying foreign nationals, per CNA. On Sept. 9, a special unit under Yilan District Prosecutor Kuo Ting-yu (郭庭瑜) raided five locations linked to the brokerage, arresting three brokers and 57 Thai nationals.
Investigators said a suspect surnamed Yu (游) ran the operation, recruiting Thai nationals through personal networks and housing them in two rented multi-story dormitory buildings in Wujie Township. To avoid detection, doors and windows were kept shut, and workers took turns standing guard.
Officers conducted overnight surveillance and launched a dawn raid, subduing the first-floor lookout and gaining entry. The dormitories lacked air conditioning, had only fans for cooling, and were partitioned with curtains or thin wooden boards.
Workers slept on the floor, and one dormitory in the compound held nearly 40 people. Some had just arrived in Taiwan and immediately joined the illegal workforce.
The ring appointed Thai leaders to manage the dormitories and used messaging apps to assign work. Jobs included farm labor, restaurant cleaning, and other short-term tasks, with vans dropping off workers daily at designated sites.
In some cases, employers personally came to select and transport workers, effectively turning the compound into an underground labor market.
