Why Are Police in South Korea Seeking Arrest Warrants for 59 Scam Suspects Repatriated from Cambodia?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- 59 suspects sought for arrest by South Korea.
- Repatriated from Cambodia amid online scam allegations.
- Investigations focus on romance scams.
- All suspects tested negative for drugs.
- International cooperation is crucial in tackling cybercrime.
Seoul, Oct 20 (NationPress) The Police in South Korea announced on Monday that they have requested arrest warrants for 59 individuals who were repatriated from Cambodia due to their suspected involvement in multiple online fraud schemes.
A total of 64 individuals were brought back from Cambodia on Saturday, with one being apprehended immediately under an existing warrant.
Among the remaining 63, four were released shortly thereafter, while another was set free after the prosecution rejected the police's warrant request, according to the National Police Agency (NPA).
Regionally, 45 suspects are currently under the scrutiny of the NPA's office in South Chungcheong Province, while 15 are managed by the office in North Gyeonggi Province, including those already released, as reported by Yonhap news agency.
The four other suspects are being investigated by the offices in Daejeon, Gimpo, Wonju, and Seoul's Seodaemun.
The South Chungcheong office has been focusing on cases of romance and other scams that occurred from late last year to July, while the North Gyeonggi office is looking into romance scams that unfolded between March and April.
Following a notification from Cambodian authorities regarding their crackdown on local voice phishing call centers from July to September, and the detention of South Korean nationals linked to these scams, the NPA has identified the South Chungcheong and North Gyeonggi offices as the primary investigation units.
The police reported that several of the repatriated suspects claimed they had been detained and assaulted by members of scam operations in Cambodia.
All 64 individuals willingly underwent drug tests, which returned negative results, according to the police.