The ringleader of an organization that ran illegal gambling operations worth more than 10 trillion won while moving around overseas was caught 10 years after going on the run.
Prosecutors said on the 30th that the Criminal Division 3 of the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office (Director General Kim Mi-su) indicted the ringleader, identified as A, in custody on charges including opening and running illegal gambling websites.
A is accused of setting up bases in foreign countries, including the Philippines, and opening and operating four sports gambling sites worth about 1.307 trillion won from Dec. 2013 to Aug. 2017.
The crimes did not stop there. From Apr. 2021 to Dec. 2023, additional charges were added for distributing and selling game money (credits) worth about 9 trillion won that could be used for online gambling, targeting more than 1,400 illegal gambling sites operating in Korea.
The total betting volume they handled alone reached 10 trillion won, and in the process, A's organization is estimated to have pocketed pure illegal profits of 26 billion won.
A drew in acquaintances and juniors and seniors A knew from Daegu, the hometown, and other places to take part in the crimes, then evaded investigators' eyes by fleeing overseas for 10 years.
However, the seemingly endless flight came to an end in an international joint investigation net. The pan-government Special Response Task Force for Transnational Crime (TF), working closely with authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), succeeded in arresting A on the ground there and forcibly repatriated A to Korea on the 4th.
Meanwhile, 18 accomplices who conspired with A have already been convicted in domestic courts, and the remaining four, whose identities have been confirmed, are still believed to be on the run overseas and are being pursued.
In addition, prosecutors have filed for a collection preservation measure with the court—a freezing order that prevents arbitrary disposal—to thoroughly strip and confiscate the hidden property A obtained through crime, including A's asset.