73 Members of Cambodia-Based Scam Ring Forcibly Repatriated to Korea and Taken to Police

Seventy-three South Korean members of criminal organizations involved in scams and kidnapping and robbery in Cambodia were forcibly repatriated to Korea on a chartered flight on the 23rd.
Korean Air flight KE9690, which was carrying them, departed from Phnom Penh, Cambodia and landed at Incheon International Airport at around 9:41 a.m. the same day.
This is the fourth time South Korean criminals have been collectively repatriated from overseas on a chartered flight. It is the largest repatriation operation ever conducted from a single country.
The individuals subject to repatriation had already been issued arrest warrants and were placed under arrest on board as soon as they boarded the chartered plane. Under the Nationality Act of the Republic of Korea, the interior of a Korean-flagged aircraft is regarded as Korean territory, allowing the execution of arrest warrants. Immediately after disembarking, they will be escorted to police stations and other investigative agencies in Korea for questioning.
The investigative agencies in charge are: 49 suspects assigned to the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency; 17 to the Criminal Mobile Unit of the Chungnam Provincial Police Agency; 1 to the Criminal Mobile Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA); 1 to the Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the SMPA; 1 to the Cybercrime Investigation Unit of the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency; 2 to the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit of the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency; 1 to the Changwon Jungbu Police Station under the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency; and 1 to the Seocho Police Station under the SMPA.
They will be transported to the respective agencies, questioned, and then placed in detention cells designated by the provincial and metropolitan police agencies.
The suspects repatriated in this operation are accused of defrauding about 48.6 billion won from 869 South Korean victims.
Seventy of them are suspected of involvement in scam crimes such as Romance scam schemes and running investment chat rooms, while three face charges including kidnapping and robbery and illegal gambling.
Among them is a married Romance scam ring that allegedly used deepfake technology to pose as fictitious persons and swindled about 12 billion won from 104 victims. They had undergone plastic surgery to alter their faces as part of their escape strategy and were arrested, but were not included in the repatriation carried out in October last year.
Also among those repatriated are suspects who posed as investment experts and took about 19.4 billion won from young workers at the start of their careers and retirees, then embezzled the funds.
In addition, fugitives who committed sex crimes against minors, fled to Cambodia, and then joined scam operations, as well as members who held victims captive in scam compounds and used them as hostages to threaten their families in Korea and extort money, were also repatriated.
welcome@fnnews.com Jang Yoo-ha Reporter