"Didn't Know Korea Was Cashless?"... Russian Pickpocket Gang's Stolen Money Over 9 Days Revealed

Crime Plan Including Role Assignment Before Entry

A Russian pickpocket gang conducting thefts while roaming the Seoul subway was sentenced to one year in prison.

In November last year, a trio of Russian pickpockets surrounded a victim in the Seoul subway to commit their crime. One member acted as the so-called "antenna," scouting for targets, another played the role of "baramjabi," distracting nearby passengers, while the remaining member, the "gigae," took the wallet from the victim's bag to carry out the pickpocketing. [Image source=Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Subway Police Unit]

On the 24th, the legal community reported that recently, Judge Kim Han-cheol of the Criminal Division 17 at the Seoul Central District Court sentenced three Russians?male defendants A (46) and B (46), and female defendant C (39)?who were detained and prosecuted on charges of special theft, to one year in prison with a two-year probation. The defendants entered the country last November on tourist visas. Since then, they are accused of repeatedly boarding and alighting on Seoul Subway Lines 3 and 9, stealing wallets from passengers.

They planned the crimes before entering the country and operated in a coordinated manner at the scene. One person acted as the so-called 'antenna,' scouting for targets, another played the role of 'decoy' by removing their coat near the victim to distract surrounding passengers. Then, the remaining member took on the 'machine' role, stealing wallets from the victims' bags. Their targets were mainly women carrying bags without locks, such as eco-bags. In this way, they stole cash and gift certificates worth approximately 2 million KRW from two female passengers.

Before entering Korea, they conspired through social networking services (SNS) by posting about 'pickpocket role assignments' and had planned to complete the crimes within 15 days in Korea and then flee back to Russia. However, they were caught by police conducting stakeouts after theft reports. Although A and others stated to investigators that they visited Korea for tourism and shopping, it was discovered that they stayed on the subway for 45 hours over 9 days, averaging 5 hours per day without getting off, which led to their capture.

The court recognized the charges as guilty but ruled, "Considering the fact that they reached agreements with the victims and confessed to all crimes, these were taken as favorable circumstances."