![The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s mobile patrol unit stops a man in his 60s wanted on multiple charges after he discarded a cigarette butt near Sillim Station in Gwanak District, southern Seoul, at around 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 20. [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1KZKHv.img)
A man in his 60s was apprehended by the mobile patrol unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police after discarding a cigarette butt near Sillim Station on August 20, around 11:30 a.m. His arrest came with multiple charges against him, including fraud. [SCREEN CAPTURE]
What initially looked like a simple case of littering turned into a significant police operation. An unfortunate cigarette butt discarded near a subway station led to the police arresting a man wanted for an elaborate cryptocurrency scam that cheated victims out of a staggering 17.7 billion won, which equals about $12.66 million.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police reported that their mobile patrol unit arrested the suspect, a male in his sixties, near Sillim Station in the Gwanak District of southern Seoul. He stood accused of ten different crimes, including fraud.
While patrolling, officers noticed the suspect dropping his cigarette and leaving quickly. When they confronted him, he made a mad dash for a taxi, pleading to be let go. He exclaimed, “Just let me go this once!” This strange behavior raised the officers’ suspicions. When they asked him for identification, he refused and attempted to run away, stating, “I’ll pay you!” all while feigning a phone call.
Upon further investigation, authorities realized he was a wanted fugitive with multiple arrest warrants. He is connected to a massive cryptocurrency scheme that took place between 2018 and 2019, in which he allegedly defrauded around 1,300 victims. The man had been on the run for five years until this incident led to his capture.
Following the arrest, the police transferred him to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office, which has been overseeing the case.
This occurrence emphasizes the success of the increased police presence around Sillim Station, a response to a recent fatal stabbing incident in July 2023.
According to a police spokesperson, “We are committed to doing our best to maintain a secure environment that the public can genuinely feel at ease in.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the assistance of generative AI tools. It has also been refined by an English editor in our newsroom.
BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]
