Shi Jianrong, 40, was arrested on Sunday night at Gaoqi International Airport in Xiamen city, southeast Fujian province - just across the Taiwan Strait - Xinhua said.

He was suspected of helping to smuggle mainland women to Taiwan, where he sold them to nightclubs in Taipei and other Taiwanese cities for NT$200,000 (HK$50,400) each, the report quoted police saying.

The police said Shi and two other key members of the gang made more than NT$5 million from the business.

Xiamen police broke up the gang in late May, arresting another gang chief, Li Jianyi, and 12 of the members.

Shi was arriving in Xiamen from Macau and was trying to find the whereabouts of Li and the others when police seized him, the police said. The case is under investigation.

Beijing claims it is cracking down on people smuggling, with Fujian officials arresting 900 snakeheads by the end of June this year.

But officials continue to face criticism for turning a blind eye to smuggling activities and for allegedly profiting from the trade by accepting bribes.

Fujianese, however, say the snakeheads being held are not the ringleaders, but merely representatives who do the recruiting.

The involvement of a snakehead gang was suspected after 58 mainland immigrants were found dead in the back of a lorry by Customs officials at the English port of Dover last month.

The immigrants, who suffocated in the sealed lorry, were also thought to have come from Fujian. The Dutch driver of the lorry has been arrested and charged with manslaughter.

CHINA - MAIN
Mainland, Europe vow to fight illegal immigrant trafficking

Belgian PM tells Zhu he regrets deaths

Send this article
to a friend