A cross-border scam ring in Taiwan tricked more than a dozen people out of over NT$160 million by posing as online friends before pitching fake investments, and police have now rounded up the crew.

• Two women running businesses in central Taiwan were hit hardest, losing over NT$140 million between them.
• The scam followed a familiar script: build trust through friendly chat, then steer victims into a fake investment platform.
• Victims only realized the money was gone when they tried to withdraw their supposed profits and could not.
• Police worked up the chain from cash couriers caught at handover meetings to the lookouts and collectors above them.
• The 20-year-old ringleader fled into the mountains of Pingtung and was cornered by a drone tracking him from the air while officers closed in on the ground.

Outlook: Five suspects including the ringleader are being charged first, with the rest of the 22 arrested still under investigation.