Taiwan's investigation into the flight of a missing political money man is widening, and the case now points to an organized smuggling ring — bad news for prosecutors hoping for a quick arrest.

• A second man, 25-year-old Chen Chun-han, was detained for helping Chang Chun-chieh flee; Chang handled money for independent legislator Kao Chin Su-mei.
• Chen said he was just driving an unlicensed taxi and did not know Chang, with the ride arranged through WeChat by a former customer.
• Investigators think the escape used a fraud-ring tactic of handing the target off between strangers so no one can link the chain together.
• A human-smuggling group is believed to be behind it, recruiting fringe figures with no gang record to run separate, isolated legs of the route.
• Chang ditched his monitoring bracelet in Taipei, left his phone behind and stayed off the internet; the trail now runs south toward the mountains near Kaohsiung, where cameras are sparse.

Outlook: Police are still working backward through security footage and cannot yet rule out that Chang has already left the country.