FUZHOU - Police in southeast China's Fujian Province said Wednesday that two men from Taiwan had been returned to the island to face charges of telephone fraud.

The two were transferred to Taiwan police at Xiamen Airport and returned to Taipei on a direct flight Friday after approval by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), said the provincial public security bureau.

Chen Shun-hui, from the island's central Nantou County, and Tsai Cheng-da, from Tainan City, were arrested on June 25 on charges of defrauding more than 90 Taiwan people of a total 15.4 million New Taiwan Dollars  (US$ 480,492) from January.

They made telephone calls from Xiamen pretending to be a long-lost relative or friend of the target or the police and asked the victim to forward money to a bank account to cover an emergency or for security reasons, the police said.

They were also wanted by Taiwan police for fraud, illegally possessing weapons and avoiding Taiwan's compulsory military service.