482 arrested in telecom scam bust

Xinhua, May 25, 2012

A total of 482 people suspected of being involved in a major transnational telecom scam were seized by Chinese mainland and Taiwanese law enforcement officials on Wednesday, Xinhua reported. Of the suspects, 177 came from the Chinese mainland and 286 from Taiwan. The other 19 suspects were from Thailand and Myanmar.

They spread across the Chinese mainland, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Fiji, and established money-laundering dens in both Taiwan and Thailand. They are suspected of stealing over 73 million yuan (US$11.5 million) in 510 cases of telecom fraud, all of which took place on the Chinese mainland.