Hotel Raids and More... Police Arrest Scam Syndicate Members on Interpol Red Notices

104 Suspects Arrested Since Launch of the Korea Task Force
Key Executives Tracked Down and Arrested in Cambodian Hideouts

The "Korea Task Force," deployed in Cambodia to dismantle scam crime syndicates that have caused widespread harm to the Korean public, has successively arrested Interpol red notice fugitives and others.

According to the National Police Agency on February 18, the Korea Task Force, where Korean and Cambodian police officers work jointly, arrested six individuals on Interpol red notices from late last year through early this month. These individuals were found not to be short-term visitors, but to have remained hidden locally for an average of nearly two years while continuing their crimes over an extended period. Two ringleaders of the organization were also among those arrested, and the police assessed that it is significant in that they have cut off a key pillar of the organization’s operations.

In January this year, police were standing by at Phnom Penh International Airport in Cambodia to repatriate Korean gang members who committed crimes such as scams and hostage-taking back to South Korea. Korean National Police Agency

On February 6, the Korea Task Force raided a hotel in Cambodia and apprehended Mr. A, a key executive of a scam syndicate that had stolen about 8.4 billion won. Intelligence from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Interpol team, which pinpointed Mr. A’s hideout, was decisive. Based on this, the police of both countries carried out a joint operation, including blocking escape routes, and succeeded in arresting Mr. A.

On February 10, they arrested Mr. B, a main suspect in an investment fraud ring that caused damages of about 10.6 billion won, based on intelligence obtained through the police liaison officer at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Cambodia. On February 4, Mr. C, who was in charge of managing the organization, had initially fled, but the two countries’ police forces shared information in real time, pursued him, and ultimately succeeded in apprehending him.

The Pan-Government Transnational Crime Special Response Task Force is building an organic cooperation system among the police agencies of both countries, the National Intelligence Service, and the embassy, with the Korea Task Force at its center. Since the Korea Task Force was launched in November last year, it has carried out 12 operations to date and arrested 104 suspects involved in organized crimes such as scams.

Lee Jaeyoung, Director General of the Bureau of International Police Cooperation at the National Police Agency, said, "We are closely watching even the possibility of a 'balloon effect,' where organizations in Cambodia move their bases or change their methods of operation," adding, "We will track down the criminals to the end and hold them accountable."