Cosplay Brokerage Financial Dispute Leads to Abduction of 4; Taipei Police Arrest 2 Suspects in 8 Minutes

Central News Agency Report

(CNA reporter Huang Li-yun, Taipei, 14th) In Taipei, a man surnamed Tseng allegedly became involved in a financial dispute over a cosplay collaboration project. After an event concluded yesterday, four individuals were forcibly abducted by two suspects, surnamed Chao and Chung, who used imitation firearms to force them into a vehicle. Upon receiving the report, police immediately launched an interception operation and successfully stopped the vehicle within 8 minutes, recovering drugs and apprehending the two suspects in accordance with the law.

At around 3 p.m. yesterday, the Zhonglun Police Station of the Songshan District, Taipei City Police Department, received a report stating that during the dispersal of an anime event held at a commercial space on Fuxing North Road, an incident of unlawful restraint had occurred, with individuals being forcibly taken into a vehicle.

Upon receiving the report, the station chief Li Nien-li immediately dispatched officers to the scene and promptly notified the duty command center to initiate a vehicle interception and encirclement operation.

Within eight minutes of the incident, police successfully intercepted the suspect vehicle at the intersection of Fuxing North Road and Hsing-an Street, where they discovered the four victims and subdued the two suspects.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the victim, Mr. Tseng, and the 40-something suspect Mr. Chao were both engaged in cosplay brokerage work. They had frequently collaborated in the past, coordinating talent and logistics, but later encountered disputes. Mr. Chao had filed fraud charges against Mr. Tseng.

Frustrated by the prolonged legal proceedings, Mr. Chao conspired with another 40-something accomplice, Mr. Chung. They rented a vehicle and, after the event ended yesterday, used imitation firearms and physical force to forcibly push Mr. Tseng and three female cosplayers under his management into the car, intending to negotiate over a financial dispute involving NT$500,000.

After successfully intercepting the vehicle, police confirmed that all four victims were unharmed. A search of the vehicle and suspects' belongings uncovered one imitation firearm, one riot control gun, and drugs including methamphetamine, cannabis cartridges, and etomidate cartridges. After questioning, the suspects were transferred to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office for investigation on charges of unlawful restraint under the Criminal Code and violations of the Controlled Substances Abuse Prevention Act. (Editor: Lin Shu-hui) 1150614