Man Hands Over Wads of Cash at Cafe... Turns Out to Be Wanted Gangster on the Run

Mobile Unit Officer on Foot Patrol Conducts Random ID Check
Flees After Being Caught Using Someone Else's Resident Registration Number

A man in his 30s who was handing out bundles of 50,000 won cash to several people at a street cafe terrace was caught during a random inspection by a mobile patrol officer. This man was revealed to be a wanted gangster.

On the 8th, Yonhap News reported on the incident that occurred around 6:30 p.m. on the 31st of last month at La Festa in Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province. At that time, six men were sitting around an outdoor terrace table at a cafe. Among them, a man in his 30s, Mr. A, distributed bundles of 50,000 won cash to five men. The men bowed at a 90-degree angle while receiving the money.

Men exchanging bundles of money at a street cafe terrace
[Image source: Provided by Gyeonggi Northern Police Agency, Yonhap News]

At the time, officers from the Mobile Patrol Unit 2 of the Northern Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency were patrolling near the cafe. They found the exchange of a large amount of cash outdoors suspicious and conducted a random inspection. The police explained the reason for the inspection by asking, "Why do you have so much cash? Why are you distributing money here?" and requested identification and the source of the funds.

The men gave various incoherent answers such as "We came to receive pocket money," "It's a reward," or "We were receiving our salary," and tried to leave the scene. The identities of the five men who received the money were confirmed, but Mr. A, who distributed the money, did not disclose the source of the funds. He also tried to conceal his identity by presenting someone else's ID.

He handed the police a fake business card and showed a KakaoTalk account under another person's name on his mobile phone to stall for time. When the police checked his identity using the resident registration number he provided, they found a significant difference between the ID photo and Mr. A's face and requested fingerprint verification. Mr. A became agitated, saying, "What did I do wrong to deserve this? Why don't you believe me?" and even tried to escape into the cafe.

The police caught Mr. A after a physical struggle as he tried to flee. He was arrested on charges of violating the Resident Registration Act and transferred to Ilsandongbu Police Station. Upon arrival at the police station, Mr. A seemed resigned and revealed his personal information.

Investigation revealed that he was a member of an organized crime group in the Daegu and Pohang areas, wanted on 14 warrants including three arrest warrants for special assault since 2019, one fine warrant, and ten wanted notifications, and had been on the run. A police official told Yonhap News, "Mr. A was transferred to a police station in the Daegu area and is understood to have been detained."