Police arrest scam ring members operating in Kazakhstan in an undated photoKOREAN NATIONAL POLICE AGENCY
A Korean scam syndicate that shifted its operations from Cambodia and Vietnam in Southeast Asia to Kazakhstan to evade law enforcement was caught in a joint operation by Korean and Kazakh authorities, the Korean police said Wednesday.
A total of 19 Koreans — 18 men and one woman — were arrested in a crackdown targeting the scam syndicate, according to the Korean National Police Agency.
Of them, 14 were arrested in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on July 23. The remaining five were arrested in Korea. The suspects are in their 20s to 40s.
Authorities named the operation "Ine," the Kazakh word for "needle," to reflect their goal of puncturing the "balloon effect,” which depicts the tendency of criminal groups shifting their operations elsewhere to avoid tougher law enforcement.
The operation marks the first time the Korean government has directly arrested a Korean scam organization operating in Central Asia.
The group initially operated from Cambodia before moving through Vietnam and establishing a new base in Kazakhstan in April. The relocation followed heightened enforcement efforts.
They set up a phone fraud operation center in Almaty and allegedly posed as Korean prosecutors and officials from the Financial Supervisory Service and the courts to defraud victims.
Investigators said the group used a tactic known as "self-confinement," in which victims were coerced to isolate themselves in hotels or other accommodations and sever contact with others when the scammers carried out the fraud. The scheme swindled 16 victims out of about 600 million won ($420,900), according to police.
The total losses are believed to exceed several billion won when the group's earlier crimes are taken into account. The investigators continue to look into additional offenses.
Logo of the National Police AgencyNEWS1
The 14 suspects arrested in Kazakhstan were repatriated to Korea in stages via Incheon International Airport between July 28 and Wednesday.
Ten of them have already been transferred to the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency and placed under detention.
The Korean police plan to seek detention warrants for the remaining four, who arrived in Korea on Wednesday.
Among the five suspects arrested domestically, four have also been detained, while the fifth is awaiting a court hearing to determine whether an arrest warrant will be issued.
Some members of the organization remain at large, including the alleged ringleader and a senior manager, both Chinese nationals believed to be in China. Others are believed to have fled to countries in Southeast Asia.
The Korean police plan to analyze evidence seized during the arrests, including mobile phones and laptops, and question the repatriated suspects to uncover the full structure of the organization.
Authorities also plan to continue international cooperation, including seeking Interpol red notices for key suspects such as the alleged ringleader and senior managers. They also plan to identify additional accomplices and determine the full scale of the fraud and the organization.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
