Police Apply for Arrest Warrants for Suspects Repatriated from Cambodia over Investment Scam Chat Room Allegations

The police have been swiftly applying for arrest warrants for suspects repatriated from Cambodia.

Koreans involved in an online scam in Cambodia and detained are being repatriated through Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport on the morning of the 18th. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the police and other sources on October 19, the Seodaemun Police Station in Seoul applied for an arrest warrant for an individual, identified as A, who is believed to have provided his bank account and mobile phone to an investment scam ring operating in Cambodia.

If the prosecution requests an arrest warrant, a pretrial detention hearing will likely take place. The result is expected as early as tomorrow, October 20.

Those who entered the country via chartered flight the previous morning are now being investigated by different regional police agencies: 45 by the Chungnam Provincial Police Agency, 15 by the Northern Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency, 1 by the Daejeon Police Agency, 1 by the Seodaemun Police Station in Seoul, 1 by the Gimpo Police Station in Southern Gyeonggi, and 1 by the Wonju Police Station in Gangwon Province.

Most of the repatriated individuals were apprehended during two separate crackdowns by Cambodian authorities on criminal compounds in July and September. They are accused of repeatedly targeting Koreans through investment scam chat rooms, voice phishing, and no-show scams.