'Illegal Export' Vietnamese Undocumented Immigrants and Others Transferred in Custody
Targeting Passengers on Line 5 and 9 Without Train CCTV
A group that bought stolen mobile phones at low prices and sold them to Vietnam was caught by the police.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Subway Police Unit announced on the 2nd that they have sent Vietnamese national A, an illegal immigrant, to the prosecution on charges including habitual possession of stolen goods. Fourteen others, including thieves who sold stolen phones to A and dealers of stolen goods, were also arrested, with eight of them detained and handed over to the prosecution.
According to the police, A has been accused of buying mobile phones from dealers of stolen goods at prices ranging from 200,000 to 1,100,000 KRW per unit from July 2021 until last month, then exporting them to Vietnam and making about 18 million KRW in profit. Charges include habitual possession of stolen goods, violations of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, the Telecommunications Business Act, and the Immigration Control Act.
A conspired with local Vietnamese accomplices to use a 'phishing' method to reset the stolen phones. They sent text messages to the original owners of the phones with content stating that a lost phone had been found, including a map location link, to induce login and steal the phone account IDs and passwords.
A was investigated to have smuggled the reset phones to Vietnam through export agencies or Vietnamese 'bottari-sang' (informal traders). To evade police tracking, they used fake bank accounts and burner phones and mainly conducted transactions of stolen goods during early morning hours, showing meticulous planning.
Most victims had their phones stolen through a method called 'busukppaegi,' where the thief pretends to support a drunk person and steals the phone from their pocket. Some thieves targeted only Lines 5 and 9 of the subway, where there are no CCTV cameras inside the train cars. So far, a total of 24 victims have been confirmed.
The police are continuing their investigation to determine if there are other accomplices involved in the crime.
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