A group that was withdrawing a large sum with a card under someone else's name at a bank ATM in Gangnam, Seoul, was caught by police. From the bag they carried, 100 million won in cash and dozens of check cards spilled out, and police are looking into possible links to a criminal organization.
The Gangnam Police Station in Seoul said on the 18th that it arrested two men in their 30s on suspicion of violating the Electronic Financial Transactions Act and is questioning them.
According to police, at about 4:21 p.m. on the 11th, a report came in from a bank ATM in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam District, that "a suspicious man is withdrawing cash recklessly." When police arrived, the suspects had already left the scene. On top of the ATM, about 100 10,000-won bills, roughly 1 million won, were left as they were.
Working with the Gangnam District Office control center, police analyzed CCTV and searched the area, and about 30 minutes after the report, at about 4:56 p.m., they apprehended two suspects about 100 meters from the crime scene. In the bag they had at the time of arrest, police found about 1.1 billion won in 50,000-won bills and 84 check cards under other people's names.
During questioning, the suspects said, "We were going to withdraw the cash and hand it over to an acquaintance at a nearby office." Based on that statement, police identified the office in question and brought in two people at the scene for additional voluntary questioning.
Police are focusing on the possibility that they are linked to a criminal organization, such as voice phishing or illegal gambling sites. Police plan to pay a reward to the caller who provided the decisive tip and also pursue a commendation for the district office CCTV control center employee.