'Mastermind Behind Cambodian Student Murder' Crime Syndicate Leader Arrested in Thailand

[Financial News] The leader of a local scam crime organization, identified as the mastermind behind the murder of a Korean university student in the Kingdom of Cambodia last August, has been apprehended in Thailand.
On the 8th, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), Korean National Police Agency (KNPA), and National Intelligence Service (NIS) announced that, in cooperation with Thai authorities, they had arrested Mr. Ham (42), a Chinese national and the alleged head of the Cambodian scam crime organization involved in the murder of Mr. Park, a university student, in Pattaya, Thailand.
While tracking Mr. Ham’s whereabouts, the MOJ, together with the KNPA and NIS, received intelligence from the NIS last November that Mr. Ham had entered Thailand. Based on this information, they immediately requested extradition proceedings from the Thai side. After close cooperation with Thai authorities, Mr. Ham was taken into custody in about a month.
Investigative authorities, in collaboration with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office of the Republic of Korea (SPO) and the KNPA, held multiple joint meetings in Seoul and Bangkok. They tracked Mr. Ham’s hideout using CCTV footage, communication investigations, and a transnational crime response operation involving police from 16 countries. After obtaining an arrest warrant in Thailand, armed police raided the hideout on the day of the arrest.
According to investigators, Mr. Ham operated a scam crime organization in the Kingdom of Cambodia with accomplices of Chinese and Korean nationality. From May to July last year, they lured Korean victims to Cambodia with false promises of high-paying part-time jobs. The group then threatened the victims with handguns and other weapons to obtain their bank account passwords and committed various crimes.
Mr. Ham is specifically accused of luring Mr. Park, the deceased university student, to Cambodia, detaining him, and instructing two accomplices—who had already been arrested locally—to subject him to brutal assault and torture.
However, as Mr. Ham is a Chinese national, a criminal extradition trial in Thailand must be completed before a final decision on his extradition to Korea can be made.
A MOJ official stated, "We will promptly request extradition from the Thai authorities and continue to work closely with them to ensure the suspect’s swift transfer to Korea."
scottchoi15@fnnews.com Choi Eun-sol Reporter