Phan Dinh Loi (L) is arrested in Ha Tinh Province on Thursday for human trafficking charges. Photo courtesy of Ha Tinh Police

Police in the central province of Ha Tinh have detained 30-year-old Phan Dinh Loi on human trafficking charges relating to a group of people taken to Taiwan late last year.

Loi, a native of Nghe An Province in central Vietnam, was arrested Thursday for arranging the illegal transportation of the 28 people to Taiwan via mainland China.

Police say that he collected nearly VND400 million ($17,183) from them in return for arranging their trip to Taiwan for illegal work.

The workers were taken by bus to Lang Son in the north, which borders China. Here, Loi is said to have handed over VND180 million ($7732) to an unidentified woman for taking the group to the other side of the border.

After successfully getting into China using small routes, the group continued their journey to Taiwan by boat.

Around this time, two people in the group were killed in an accident about which no further information is currently available. The other 26 people were apprehended following the accident.

Taiwan is a top destination for Vietnamese workers looking for jobs overseas. Around 67,000 Vietnamese workers were sent to Taiwan last year, accounting for half of the workers Vietnam sent overseas that year.