Is the mastermind behind a secondhand scam just the tip of a much larger criminal network?
In the Dec. 27 episode of SBS’ Friday-Saturday drama "Taxi Driver 3", the Rainbow Taxi team tracked down a grifter who preyed on online used-goods marketplaces―only to stumble onto an even bigger operation lurking in the shadows.
After cornering the scammer who mocked and tormented his victims, Kim Do-gi laid out how the scheme worked. You buy gadgets you want, enjoy them, then flaunt the photos to lure marks―it’s your idea of a genius side hustle, huh? he snapped.
Instead of remorse, the con artist tried to cut a deal―and even recruit Do-gi. If this is about money, I can pay. Better yet, want in? The profits are real. All you need is a little seed money. I can introduce you to the pros, he said, pushing Do-gi’s buttons. People get three chances in life. This is one of them.
Then came the trap. Boasting about “our system,” he opened an “A/S” box―an after-sales kit he’d requested. Despite Do-gi’s warning, the package exploded. Do-gi barely made it out alive, while a suspicious live-fish truck loomed nearby, watching it all unfold.
That blast led the team to a more sinister figure: someone running a business that outfits would-be criminals. To smoke them out, Do-gi and Jang headed to an island that practically screamed trouble.
Locals eyed them warily. On the way down from a temple, the pair met a man who introduced himself as a photographer―played by Kim Sung-kyu―who murmured, Doesn’t something about the people here feel off? Like there’s no human warmth. The unsettling encounter raised even more red flags.
By the next morning, the islanders had vanished. Seizing the opening, Do-gi searched the now-empty temple, uncovering files tied to the secondhand scam, a suspicious group photo, and a pen stamped with the Judicial Research and Training Institute Prosecutors’ Alumni Association―breadcrumbs that hint the conspiracy may snake into powerful circles.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Hyo-jung)