Korea–Cambodia joint investigations bear fruit as key online scam leaders arrested in succession

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According to Financial News, the police, working in close cooperation with Cambodia, have succeeded in arresting a series of key figures in online scam organizations.
The Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) announced on the 18th that, through intensive cooperation targeting suspects who run online scam syndicates based in Cambodia, they have arrested major figures, including individuals on Interpol red notices.
Since the establishment of the Korea–Cambodia Korea Task Force in November last year, the police have expanded crackdowns on major scam compounds across Cambodia. In December, they carried out a large-scale joint operation specifically targeting these scam sites. The police believe these measures have sent a strong warning to regional hub organizations and have begun to change the local crime environment.
According to the KNPA, the Pan-Government Special Response Task Force on Transnational Crimes has gone beyond simple raids on scam compounds. It has continued operations aimed at the core of the organizations by broadening investigations into accomplices, focusing on ringleaders and manager-level suspects.
The six recently arrested individuals on Interpol red notices were manager-level members of the criminal organizations. They were not short-term visitors; instead, they are believed to have remained in hiding locally for an average of about one year and ten months while continuing their crimes. Police said their arrests effectively cut off a central pillar of the scam operations.
On the 4th of this month, in particular, the police obtained location information on a scam organization’s operations manager through a police liaison officer. Police from both countries, including the Korea Task Force, then shared information in real time and arrested the fleeing suspect on the street after a chase of about 500 meters.
Then on the 6th, through the Interpol team of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA), authorities identified the hotel hideout of a senior member of a scam ring that had defrauded victims of about 8.4 billion won. In an emergency joint operation between Korean and Cambodian police, they blocked escape routes around the building and arrested the suspect. On the 10th, acting on intelligence obtained by the police liaison officer at the Korean Embassy in Cambodia, they tracked down and arrested a key suspect in an investment fraud ring that caused damages of about 10.6 billion won.
The Pan-Government Special Response Task Force on Transnational Crimes has built an organic cooperation system centered on the Korea Task Force, linking the KNPA, the National Intelligence Service (NIS), the embassy, and the Cambodian National Police. As a result, since the Korea Task Force was launched in November last year, 12 operations have been carried out, rescuing four Korean nationals and arresting 140 suspects involved in scam and other organized crimes.
The police plan to further strengthen cooperation with the Cambodian police. They will also work closely with the NIS and other relevant agencies to collect intelligence on all fronts, and will closely analyze and track suspects’ escape routes and methods of concealment.
Lee Jae-young, Director General for International Police Cooperation at the KNPA, stated, "We are reinforcing international cooperation while keeping a close eye on the so-called 'balloon effect,' in which criminal organizations in Cambodia may shift their bases or change their operating methods." He added, "As a member of the Pan-Government Special Response Task Force on Transnational Crimes, we will continue to pursue criminals who have harmed our citizens and hold them accountable to the very end."
welcome@fnnews.com Jang Yoo-ha Reporter