Crime Committed After Giving "Zolpidem-Laced Alcohol" at Nightclubs
A group of women who gave alcohol laced with the sedative-hypnotic drug zolpidem to middle-aged men they met at nightclubs and then siphoned money from the victims' accounts using mobile banking have been apprehended by the police.
On October 15, Cheongwon Police Station in Cheongju announced that it had arrested and referred a woman in her 20s, identified as A, and a woman in her 40s, identified as B, to the prosecution on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act and committing aggravated robbery.
According to the police, at around 2 a.m. on June 15, the two women made two men in their 50s drink alcohol mixed with zolpidem at a motel in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province. They then used banking applications saved on the victims' mobile phones to transfer 2 million won to accounts under their own names.
The investigation revealed that, using the same method, the women extorted a total of approximately 36 million won from 10 middle-aged men they met at nightclubs in Cheonan and Cheongju over five separate incidents during the month of June.
It was found that A and her accomplices obtained zolpidem from a hospital, claiming it was for insomnia treatment. After the victims lost consciousness due to the effects of the drug, the suspects either coerced them into revealing their phone passwords or used their fingerprints to facilitate the transfers.
Most of the victims testified, "I have no memory after drinking alcohol."
After receiving reports from victims stating, "Money was withdrawn from my account without my knowledge," the police launched an investigation and apprehended A and the others at the end of last month.
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