One Ringleader Arrested... 33 Additional Employees and Others Detained
A group operating an online relay-type gambling site in the Gangnam-gu area of Seoul was arrested en masse by the police.
On the 6th, the Narcotics Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that the mastermind A (54) who opened and operated the online relay-type gambling site was sent to prosecution in custody on charges of violating the Tourism Promotion Act and establishing a gambling site, and 33 others including B (41), an employee and professional dealer hired at the gambling site, and gambler C (56) were sent to prosecution without detention on charges of aiding the operation of the gambling site.
A is suspected of opening and operating an online relay-type gambling site from June last year to August this year in the Yeoksam-dong area of Gangnam-gu, Seoul, by streaming overseas casino videos live through an internet gambling site and allowing participation in betting. Twenty people, including B, were employees hired at the gambling site to create a casino atmosphere and are suspected of aiding the operation of the illegal gambling site, while 13 others, including C, are suspected of entering the gambling site during this period and conducting transactions worth tens of millions to hundreds of millions of Korean won.
Police investigation revealed that A rented an office in a building in Yeoksam-dong and operated the illegal gambling site disguised as an ordinary office at first glance. A operated the site on a strict membership basis to avoid external exposure and rented offices on a short-term lease basis, moving locations three times over 14 months to evade police crackdowns. The gambling funds transacted at the site operated by A over 14 months are known to amount to approximately 65 billion Korean won. The police confiscated 205 million Korean won of illicit profits from A and plan to continue crackdowns in the future.
A police official said, "Various gambling sites are causing serious social problems such as youth gambling," and added, "We hope people will be aware that gambling is a serious crime and can ruin lives if one becomes addicted. If you receive promotional messages for gambling sites, please actively report them to the Gambling Industry Regulatory Commission."
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