Recently, there have been numerous incidents of Taiwanese nationals recruited to work in Cambodia by unscrupulous criminal groups. They were  forced to work in scam call centers and for other illicit activities. Those who  do not comply are dealt with violently. The Executive Yuan is very concerned about this kind of human trafficking that infringes on the personal freedom of Taiwanese nationals, and has joined forces with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Immigration Agency, the Civil Aeronautics Administration, and the National Police Agency to conduct an inter-ministerial joint response. The National Police Agency (NPA) even designated human trafficking as a special major criminal case on July 26. In addition, on August 11, the NPA ordered all precincts and police stations nationwide to conduct home visits to more than 4,000 nationals who had left the country for Cambodia and asked their families to be careful about the safety of their loved ones in Cambodia and to report any personal safety problems to the government immediately. This is the government's initiative to care and encourage relatives, friends and victims to report related cases, with the intent to provide assistance for Taiwanese nationals living or traveling abroad when needed.  The NPA also expressed the hope that the good intentions will not be misunderstood.

The Criminal Police Bureau's International Criminal Affairs Division received leads recently and concluded that a man surnamed Tsai, who goes by the nicknamed "Dan" was working with a fraud ring to send a number of human trafficking victims to the airport for a flight to Cambodia on July 24. The team immediately reported to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office and formed a task force with the Criminal Investigation Division of the Taipei Police Department and proceeded to the check-in counter at Taoyuan International Airport on the 24th. Together with the Criminal Investigation Division of the Aviation Police Bureau, the joint task force stopped four nationals who was going to  leave the country and arrested the suspect  Tsai,  who was responsible for transporting the victims. The team also went to Xindian District and arrested the accomplice surnamed Jan after obtaining an emergency search warrant. On July 27, the task force once again stopped a group of three nationals recruited by the same fraud ring at the airport attempting to leave the country. Most of them did not have any technical expertise and they did not know which company they wanted to work for or what kind of work they wanted to do in Cambodia. After explaining the risks of leaving the country, the seven people comprehended the risks involved and thanked the police for stopping them.

It is understood that the victims were recruited to work in Cambodia, that is, the two suspects Tsai and Jan provided "one-stop" departure services. First, arranging transport from the victims’ place of residence to Taipei City to complete the passport application procedures, then forging the "vaccination yellow card" proving the administration of three doses of COVID-19 vaccines. Before leaving the country, the victims were also provided with accommodation, living expenses and then chartered transport to the airport. The number of Taiwanese nationals tricked into leaving for Cambodia and the amount of illicit gains are still under investigation. The investigation results will also be reported to the inter-ministerial joint task force team for  continue processing, and the illegal proceeds shall be confiscated. The two suspects were referred to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office for further investigation and requested to be held incommunicado, which was granted by the Taoyuan District Court on August 12.

These people were tempted to work abroad by high salaries from online advertisements or through friends' recommendations.  They followed the instructions of unknown individuals through LINE or WeChat and cooperated in all the departure matters, with all expenses paid for and sometimes even granted with living expenses, unaware of the possibility of being beaten, detained or even resold. The police urge people should  be more cautious when seeking jobs over the internet and  avoid falling victim to human trafficking. The CIB hereby reminds the public to NOT accept job opportunities that offer:

These Cambodian transnational scam rings lure unsuspecting people with "high pay and benefits" offers.

But in reality, once you get off the plane and meet with the criminal syndicate, you lose your freedom instantly. You could be held captive and be beaten or hurt if not obey.  Of course, instead of working as a casino croupier or another job, you are most likely forced to make scam phone calls.