Police detain 32 suspects in cross-straits phone fraud bust
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Police in Taiwan and Fujian Province said they cracked a telephone fraud scheme Thursday, arresting 32 suspects and putting holds on more than 500 bank accounts.
The suspects pretended to be police or other authorities and telephoned victims demanding money be transferred to designated accounts on various pretexts.
Initial investigations show they swindled at least 10 million yuan (1.46 million U.S. dollars) from 130 victims in 13 different Chinese mainland provinces beginning in 2009.
Some 22 of the suspects arrested are Taiwan residents, including the gang's ringleader surnamed Shi.
The ring, operating simultaneously from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, was busted in a 10-hour cross-strait joint operation.
Some 19 suspects were apprehended in Hubei, Yunnan, Fujian and Jiangsu provinces while 13 were arrested in Taiwan.
