A Korea task force where Korean and Cambodian police work jointly is arresting Interpol red notice fugitives in quick succession.
According to the Korean National Police Agency on the 18th, the Korea task force and others raided a hotel in Cambodia on the 6th and arrested A, a key executive of a scam ring that swindled about 8.4 billion won.
Intelligence provided by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Interpol team, which identified the hotel, was decisive. Police from both countries conducted a joint operation, including blocking escape routes around the building through an emergency coordination.
On the 10th, based on intelligence obtained through a police attaché at the Embassy of Korea in Cambodia, they arrested B, a main suspect in an investment fraud ring that caused 10.6 billion won in losses.
There was also a chase. Sharing real-time information on the 4th, police from both countries pursued C, a manager for a fleeing scam ring, for about 500 meters before arresting the person on the street.
The Korean National Police Agency said that six recently arrested Interpol red notice fugitives are managerial-level figures within criminal organizations. Rather than short-term stays, they remained hidden locally for an average of 1 year and 10 months while continuing their crimes, and the agency assessed that it "cut off a key axis of scam ring operations."
A transnational crime special response task force (TF) composed of the Korean National Police Agency, the Ministry of Justice, the National Intelligence Service, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs carried out 12 operations since Nov. last year, rescuing four Korean nationals and arresting 140 suspects in scam crimes and other offenses.
Lee Jae-young, director general for international criminal cooperation at the Korean National Police Agency, said, "We are monitoring even the possibility of a balloon effect in which organizations in Cambodia shift their bases or change operating methods."