Dang Tuan Tu, 28, and five other unnamed people are being investigated for illegal detention and extortion. Nguyen Van Hao, 27, is being investigated for human trafficking.

Police said Saturday that Tu initially introduced 10 unnamed people to Hao after the latter said he could help people go to Taiwan and work there illegally. The group of 12 went to China early last month through a border checkpoint in the northern province of Lang Son using passports and travel passes.

After entering China, the 10 people gave Hao between VND40 million ($1,700) to VND100 million ($4,270) each for being taken to Taiwan. But as the people boarded a ship to Taiwan, Hao escaped with the money, forcing the group to return to Vietnam.

Tu later discovered that Hao was residing in Quang Ninh, and hired people to make Hao return the money. Hao returned VND200 million ($8,540), before contacting the police on May 3 and making a confession.

Dang Tuan Tu (L) and Nguyen Van Hao at a police station in Quang Ninh Province.
Photo by VnExpress

In recent years, Taiwan also emerged as a promising destination for Vietnamese workers looking for jobs overseas. Vietnam sent 65,000 workers to Taiwan last year, accounting for nearly half of all workers sent overseas.

But Taiwan is also a common destination for Vietnamese hoping to work or stay in the territory illegally. Last year, 152 Vietnamese went missing in Taiwan, making local and international headlines. Many were discovered afterwards, trying to stay in Taiwan to work illegally.

The incident prompted Taiwan to temporarily suspend a certain visa program for Vietnamese tour groups for about two months, before resuming the program in March under stricter regulations.