The National Police Agency announced on July 21 that it has dispatched an investigation team to conduct further inquiries into 19 members of a romance scam crime syndicate who were apprehended in Pattaya, Thailand.
These individuals set up their base of operations in a pool villa complex in Pattaya, Thailand, installing dozens of electronic devices including computers. They then created crime scenarios for romance scams and voice phishing, assigned specific roles, and carried out systematic fraudulent activities as an organized group.
The police are analyzing the electronic devices used in the crimes, investigating the suspects, and have met with the head of Thailand's government task force dedicated to fraud crimes to discuss in depth joint response measures aimed at blocking international organized crime syndicates based in Southeast Asia at their source.
The police plan to promptly repatriate all apprehended syndicate members to Korea through close cooperation with Thai immigration authorities.
An official from the National Police Agency stated, "This is an excellent example of international cooperation in responding to crimes affecting people's livelihoods, such as fraud, based on the network accumulated between the two countries," and added, "We will continue to take the lead in eradicating international organized crime through close collaboration with overseas law enforcement agencies, including Interpol."
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