South Korean police are hunting for three foreign nationals accused of fleeing the country after stealing 240 million won ($163,000) in cash as part of an OTC USDT trade.
Officers in Incheon said one of the suspects is a Russian national, while the other two are from Kazakhstan, News1 and TV Chosun reported.
Incheon Seobu Police Station announced on April 1 that they plan to hand all three suspects over to the prosecution service. However, it conceded that the trio, all aged in their 20s, remain at large.
South Korean Police Note Rise in OTC USDT Crimes
Police have requested that Interpol issue a red notice for all three suspects. Interpol red notices oblige most of the world’s police forces to arrest fugitives on sight.
Incheon Seobu Police Station, in Incheon, South Korea. (Source: hyolee2 [CC BY-SA 3.0])
Incheon-based police officers say that the trio arranged to meet an unnamed crypto trader aged in their 30s on the first floor of a commercial building in Seoknam-dong, Seo-gu, Incheon, at around 9:40 PM on February 21.
The trader had replied to a post on a crypto-related open chatroom on the KakaoTalk chat app.
The poster, who appears to be the Russian national, per the police report, claimed to be selling USDT tokens for lower than the market value.
The trader arrived at the address with a paper box or bag containing the cash.
However, the suspects had carefully prepared a scheme to help them escape the area with the money.
Police said the Russian national “pretended to leave the room for a moment, saying he was going to the bathroom.”
However, he then returned to the room unexpectedly and then “ran away with the cash,” without transferring any USDT tokens.
The suspect was then able to flee the scene in a vehicle “prepared by his accomplices.”
Officers traced this individual’s whereabouts to an officetel (a type of studio apartment) in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.
Ansan, in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. (Source: Ken Eckert [CC BY-SA 4.0])
The next day, police said, the Russian national left the country on a plane heading to Vietnam. The other two individuals left for Kazakhstan on the same day.
Investigators said they had initially believed that the trio would give the cash to an accomplice in South Korea and “obtain the cash later.”
They launched a wider investigation, questioning several people involved. However, they reported that their probe had yielded “no significant results.”
No Sign of Cash, Say Police
Officers also examined closed-circuit television footage and searched both the officetel and nearby currency exchange bureaus.
However, they reported that their searches have thus far proven fruitless, with no signs of the cash. A police spokesperson explained:
“We believe it is unlikely that the suspects left the country with the cash. But we have not been able to identify any additional accomplices or discover the location of the money.”
Officers added that “the whereabouts of the suspects” are currently “unclear.” They had added all three suspects to the national wanted list.
Incheon: Hit by Crime Wave?
Police in Incheon and elsewhere in South Korea have noted a sharp rise in similar OTC-related theft incidents this year.
Many of the cases follow a similar pattern. And many also involve sellers offering to trade USDT, in person, for low prices.
Last month, four individuals pleaded guilty to stealing around $735,000 from a crypto buyer in a “bogus” USDT deal in Songnim District of Eastern Incheon on February 19.
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