Yeongjongdo: A group of 73 South Koreans detained in Cambodia over alleged involvement in online scam operations was forcibly returned home Friday to face investigation.
A chartered Korean Air flight arrived at Incheon International Airport at 9:41 a.m. after departing from Phnom Penh, marking the nation’s largest repatriation of criminal suspects from a single country.
The suspects had been detained in Cambodia after a joint investigation between South Korean and Cambodian police, and are accused of swindling a total of 48.6 billion won ($33.1 million) from 869 South Korean victims, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
They were immediately placed under custody after boarding the plane with court-issued warrants and transferred to local police stations nationwide for further investigation. Police plan to file for warrants to extend their detention.
As the suspects were escorted by police at the airport, most of them appeared to be in their 20s and 30s, and wearing short-sleeve shirts and shorts, apparently due to the warm weather in Cambodia.
Among the suspects, 70 of them are accused of participation in online fraud activities, such as romance scams, while the remaining three face charges of robbery by hostage and gambling.
One of them is accused of fleeing to Cambodia and engaging in scams after allegedly committing a sexual crime against a minor, while another is suspected of keeping a victim hostage at a criminal compound and extorting money from their family, Yonhap news agency reported.
They also included a couple accused of swindling 12 billion won from 104 people through romance scams using deep fake technology. The couple had evaded authorities by undergoing plastic surgery before their detention.
The joint team had raided seven scam criminal compounds in the Southeast Asian nation, including sites in Sihanoukville, Poipet and Mondulkiri Province, to round up the suspects.
Authorities rescued men in their 20s who had been detained and tortured at the compounds.
The joint government operation involved the National Police Agency, the justice ministry, the National Intelligence Service and the foreign ministry.
(IANS)
