129 Chinese,Taiwanese telecom fraud suspects deported to China

China today said it has secured the deportation from Armenia of 51 Chinese and 78 Taiwanese nationals, who were involved in telecom frauds worth over USD 1 million.
The 129 suspects were arrested when local police raided six dens on August 20, Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said.
A large amount of equipment, including computers and smart phones, were found on the spot.
China already has a number of Taiwanese nationals alleged to have involved in such frauds from different countries.
Taiwan has been protesting over the deportation of its nationals to China for trial and punishment. China, however, argues that they committed crimes against Beijing and are, therefore, entitled to be punished in the mainland.

The MPS dispatched a working team to Armenia to deal with the issue on August 26.

Investigation found that the syndicate based in Armenia had been falsely presenting themselves as law enforcement officers to extort money from people on the Chinese mainland through telephone calls, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
They were found to have cheated people involved in about 50 cases, worth more than 7 million yuan (USD 1.2 million).
The MPS has designated police from Guangdong Province to investigate the case, as all victims are from the mainland.
Mainland police have informed Taiwan authorities of the cases.
Telecom fraud has caused grave harm, said the MPS, vowing to continue the fight against telecom fraud.

Public Security Minister Guo Shengkun calld for efforts to enhance public awareness of such crimes and firmly curb on telecom fraud to protect people's legitimate rights and interests in Shanghai on Tuesday.