Kaohsiung: Kaohsiung immigration officials announced Wednesday the rescue of five Thai nationals who were deceived into illegal work in Taiwan, revealing that their passports were among 47 seized from an international human trafficking syndicate. The National Immigration Agency (NIA) officials have assisted these individuals in securing legal employment.
According to Focus Taiwan, the operation uncovered 47 passports belonging to Thai nationals, and efforts are ongoing to contact the remaining 42 individuals to ascertain their status as victims. The syndicate operated through brokers in Thailand, using fake job advertisements on Facebook and maintaining a support network across Taiwan. Chao Chih-cheng, head of the NIA's Kaohsiung Specialized Operation Brigade, stated that a naturalized Taiwanese woman from Vietnam, surnamed Chen, along with six Taiwanese nationals and three naturalized Chinese spouses, were detained. Additionally, 12 brokers based in Thailand were identified.
The NIA's Kaohsiung brigade collaborated with Miaoli police's Criminal Investigation unit, forming a task force that raided the syndicate's premises in March after months of evidence collection, including the recovery of 47 Thai passports. The group's illegal profits are estimated at nearly NT$4 million (US$126,610).
The task force referred the 22 suspects to Miaoli prosecutors on charges of violating the Human Trafficking Prevention Act and the Employment Service Act. The case is currently awaiting prosecution, as per an NIA statement. The five victims were rescued in March from mountainous areas in Miaoli and Nantou counties, Taichung, and Kaohsiung. They had been employed as farm workers, enduring low pay, long hours, and no leave.
Conditions for some of the victims were dire, with cramped living spaces and insufficient food supplies, forcing them to catch fish and shrimp or gather wild vegetables to sustain themselves. An NIA officer, speaking to CNA by phone, revealed that victims were charged between NT$60,000 to NT$80,000 by brokers in Thailand and Taiwan, while being paid as little as NT$100 per hour.
The five victims, who had arrived in Taiwan one to two years ago as visitors, have been granted legal residency and lawful employment under the Human Trafficking Prevention Act. The NIA decided to publicize the case earlier than planned to aid in tracking down the remaining victims. Chao emphasized the NIA's zero-tolerance policy towards human trafficking and its commitment to cracking down on illegal labor brokers and unscrupulous employers.