482 held in telecom scam bust
Source: Xinhua |
May 25, 2012, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A TOTAL of 482 people suspected of being involved in a major transnational telecom scam were seized by law enforcement officials from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan on Wednesday with the help of police in six countries.
Of the suspects, 177 are from the Chinese mainland and 286 from Taiwan, the Ministry of Public Security said yesterday. The other 19 suspects are from Thailand and Myanmar.
They are suspected of having stolen more than 73 million yuan (US$11.5 million) in 510 cases of telecom fraud, all of which took place in the Chinese mainland, the ministry said.
The suspects were spread throughout the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, as well as six other countries - Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Fiji - and had established money-laundering dens in Taiwan and Thailand, it said.
The ministry said that 126 suspects from the Chinese mainland were escorted from Thailand and Malaysia to Beijing yesterday for further questioning.
Of the 286 Taiwanese suspects, 262 were taken back to Taiwan.
The ministry launched its investigation in November 2011 and invited the cooperation of police from Taiwan. Earlier this month, the ministry sent six groups composed of 70 Chinese police officers to the six countries for further investigations.
The group was busted on Wednesday with the help of law enforcement agencies in those six countries, the ministry said.
"The group mainly squeezed money from individuals or companies by calling them in the name of police or prosecutors and threatening to accuse them of money-laundering crimes," said Liu Ancheng, deputy director of the ministry's Criminal Investigation Bureau.
They asked victims to transfer money into the group's accounts and then told accomplices in Taiwan and Thailand to withdraw the money from local ATMs.
Liu said the Taiwanese suspects comprised the majority of the group, distinguishing it from most cases in the mainland.
"Ringleaders from Taiwan were deterred by mainland police's stern crackdown on telecom scams, so they recruited locals in Taiwan to commit this crime," Liu said.
The ministry said it regarded the coordinated crackdown on the telecom scam as a new example of transnational police cooperation, adding that China's law enforcement departments were always confident in, and capable of, safeguarding the security of people's property.
Of the suspects, 177 are from the Chinese mainland and 286 from Taiwan, the Ministry of Public Security said yesterday. The other 19 suspects are from Thailand and Myanmar.
They are suspected of having stolen more than 73 million yuan (US$11.5 million) in 510 cases of telecom fraud, all of which took place in the Chinese mainland, the ministry said.
The suspects were spread throughout the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, as well as six other countries - Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Fiji - and had established money-laundering dens in Taiwan and Thailand, it said.
The ministry said that 126 suspects from the Chinese mainland were escorted from Thailand and Malaysia to Beijing yesterday for further questioning.
Of the 286 Taiwanese suspects, 262 were taken back to Taiwan.
The ministry launched its investigation in November 2011 and invited the cooperation of police from Taiwan. Earlier this month, the ministry sent six groups composed of 70 Chinese police officers to the six countries for further investigations.
The group was busted on Wednesday with the help of law enforcement agencies in those six countries, the ministry said.
"The group mainly squeezed money from individuals or companies by calling them in the name of police or prosecutors and threatening to accuse them of money-laundering crimes," said Liu Ancheng, deputy director of the ministry's Criminal Investigation Bureau.
They asked victims to transfer money into the group's accounts and then told accomplices in Taiwan and Thailand to withdraw the money from local ATMs.
Liu said the Taiwanese suspects comprised the majority of the group, distinguishing it from most cases in the mainland.
"Ringleaders from Taiwan were deterred by mainland police's stern crackdown on telecom scams, so they recruited locals in Taiwan to commit this crime," Liu said.
The ministry said it regarded the coordinated crackdown on the telecom scam as a new example of transnational police cooperation, adding that China's law enforcement departments were always confident in, and capable of, safeguarding the security of people's property.
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