Taiwan gangs help rescue victims of Cambodian human trafficking

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Gangs in Taiwan have surprisingly played a part in the nationwide scramble to get citizens home from the human traffic rings centered in Cambodia.

Wu Tung-tan (吳桐潭), a leader of the Heavenly Way Alliance, one of Taiwan's three major organized gangs, told Up Media that the country's gangs including the Bamboo Union are ramping up efforts to help rescue citizens tricked overseas to engage in scam activities. A purge is also underway within the gangs to prevent members from participating in the rackets, he added.

According to one member involved in the rescue effort, all they need is the name of the victim. The organizations have their own way of pinpointing and bringing out the individual in the Southeast Asian country through the assistance of “local friends” without running into much trouble as long as the victim is “still alive.”

While no ransom is required during the negotiations, the rings would almost certainly ask for compensation for the fees involved in visa application, booking flight tickets, and accommodation during the victim's stay, the report quoted the source as saying.

The growingly rampant scams and human trafficking activity in Cambodia can be attributed to the relaxed rules on casinos, according to a Taiwanese gang member. Many fraud rings and casinos there are operated by the Chinese and COVID is hampering their efforts to recruit people from China. “That is why they turn to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other Southeast Asian countries for new blood.”

Taiwanese nationals have fallen for human trafficking over the years but what they are witnessing in Cambodia is unlike anything they have ever seen, said a source, who described the crimes as “more cruel and inhuman.”

Taiwan has issued a red alert travel advisory, the highest level of warning, for Cambodia. According to the Criminal Investigation Bureau, among the 4,679 Taiwanese nationals that traveled to and have not returned from the country over the past year, 306 have been identified as suspected victims of the crimes as of Sunday (Aug. 28).