The Ministry of Justice announced the number of human trafficking investigations from 2021 to 2024, 147 people were suspected of organ harvesting cases

The Department of Justice emblem is shown in an undated photo. Photo: CNA

By Hollie Younger/Staff writer, with CNA reporting

Data disclosed by the Ministry of Justice show that from 2021 to last year (2024), a total of 3,401 human trafficking cases were investigated, of which 147 people were suspected of organ harvesting.

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Forced labor accounts for the largest proportion of human trafficking investigations, involving 1,914 people, or about 56 percent, according to five-year data on human trafficking cases handled by the District Attorney's Office.

Sex trafficking investigations involved 1,281 people, or 38%, although the number increased from 168 in 2021 to 309 last year.

The number of people suspected of organ harvesting is less than 70 every year, and last year, 34 people were investigated.

The number of people investigated in human trafficking cases increased from more than 600 in 2022 to 957 in 2023, the highest level in the five-year period, although it fell to 802 last year.

Of the 3,401 people, only 41% were prosecuted, and of those convicted, 50.4% were aged 18 to 29 and 27.3% were 30 to 39, with the average age being 32.

The Taoyuan District Prosecutor's Office is investigating a human trafficking ring that tried to send three people to China for organ harvesting, but the intended victims were found before leaving Taiwan.

Seven suspects were indicted in the case earlier this month, and prosecutors are seeking up to seven years in prison for each defendant.

Under the 2023 revised Human Trafficking Prevention Act (Human Trafficking Prevention Act), the penalty for attempted human trafficking is five to seven years in prison.

The Ministry of Justice stated that the government is continuing to combat human trafficking through preventive measures, reviewing anti-trafficking strategies, and integrating public and private sector resources.

The U.S. State Department's 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report (released last September) ranked Taiwan as Level 1, marking the sixteenth consecutive year it has received this rating, meaning authorities fully meet the minimum standards for combating human trafficking.

News source: TAIPEI TIMES

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