Chinese, Taiwanese gang busted in Turkey’s west

İZMİR

A fraud gang of Chinese and Taiwanese that stole millions of dollars from thousands of people has been busted in the Urla district of the western province of İzmir.

Nearly 85 people are members of the gang, which rented luxurious houses in the district and mainly targeted Chinese and Taiwanese nationals. 

The suspects reportedly introduced themselves to the victims as post officers on the phone and told them that they had tax debt. The members of the gang also introduced themselves as police officers to those who did not believe they were “post officers.” The money received from the victims was transferred to foreign accounts in order to avoid being caught.

The suspects also planned to copy credit cards by putting copying machines in ATMs, but were caught by police.

The base of the gang was determined by the police, who staked it out using drones. 

The police saw that there were dozens of people inside the house, which was made soundproof in order to prevent phone conversations from being heard outside.

A raid was conducted on the house with 50 police officers amid tight security measures, resulting in the detention of 82 people.

Dozens of cellphones, laptops, computers, sim cards and the identification information of 7,000 Chinese and Taiwanese individuals were seized in the operation. 

The information on the operation was shared with Interpol, while the İzmir police received commendations from the Chinese Consulate General. 

Ten of the 82 detained were arrested while the others were taken to the İzmir Directorate of Immigration Administration for deportation.