Korea-Cambodia task force arrests 140 in scams

The “Korea-Cambodia Desk,” established to exclusively investigate crimes targeting South Koreans in Cambodia, has arrested 140 suspects in the three months since its launch, police said Tuesday.

According to the National Police Agency, the unit conducted 12 operations after opening in November, apprehending 140 individuals linked to organized crimes, including online scams, and rescuing four South Korean victims.

Six of those arrested were subjects of Interpol Red Notices. Local investigations carried out between Dec. 22 and March 10 led to their capture. Authorities said the suspects had been hiding in Cambodia for an average of one year and 10 months, allegedly overseeing scam operations and money-laundering schemes. An Interpol Red Notice is a request to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a suspect pending extradition.

Police also arrested a senior member of a scam ring accused of defrauding victims of about 8.4 billion won, or roughly $6.3 million. The Korea-Cambodia Desk identified the hotel where the suspect was staying through the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Interpol team and apprehended him March 6 in coordination with Cambodian authorities. Two days earlier, investigators obtained real-time location data on a manager of another scam organization, tracked the fleeing suspect for about 500 meters and made the arrest. On March 10, acting on intelligence provided by a police officer stationed at the South Korean Embassy in Cambodia, authorities arrested a key suspect in a separate fraud ring blamed for losses exceeding 10 billion won.

The Korea-Cambodia Desk was created last year amid growing concerns over so-called crime compounds operating in Cambodia and following the death of a South Korean university student there. Since opening in November, the unit has overseen the full process in cases involving South Koreans, from receiving reports and rescuing victims to conducting investigations and repatriating suspects. In December, the unit rescued a South Korean held at a scam compound and arrested 26 suspects in connection with the case, while continuing on-site investigations.

Police said they are closely monitoring the possibility of a so-called balloon effect, in which criminal groups relocate to neighboring countries or alter their methods in response to crackdowns. “We will closely monitor both the relocation of these criminal groups and shifts in their operational methods,” said Lee Jae-yeong, director general of the International Cooperation Bureau at the National Police Agency.


정서영 기자 cero@donga.com