"Drink and Black Out": Group Busted for Extorting 110 Million Won from Drunk Customers and Illegally Filming Them

The owners and employees of an entertainment establishment who made customers heavily intoxicated, secretly charged exorbitant bar tabs, and even illegally filmed them have been forwarded to the prosecution.

The Incheon Michuhol Police Station announced today (November 2) that they have arrested and transferred two entertainment establishment owners in their 30s, including a person surnamed A, to the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office on charges of fraud, violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes (utilizing cameras, etc. for filming), and false accusation.

In addition, three establishment employees in their 40s and 50s, including a person surnamed B, were booked without detention and forwarded to the prosecution on the same charges.

A and the others are accused of swindling 110 million won under the guise of alcohol expenses from 14 customers at an entertainment establishment in Michuhol-gu between July 2024 and September of last year.

They induced customers to drink explosive cocktails (bomb drinks) to make them heavily intoxicated, and then took their credit cards to pay for the drinks.

A's group also illegally filmed the bodies of two victims for intimidation purposes, and if a credit card payment did not go through, they reported the victims to the police for dining and dashing or visited the customers' homes to steal cash.

It was reported that individuals with intellectual disabilities were among the victimized customers, and a medicine packet containing tranquilizer components was also seized from the establishment.

During police investigations, the victims stated, "I have never been that drunk before, but the moment I drank the alcohol, I lost my memory."

Initially, the police received multiple related damage reports, but due to insufficient evidence and other reasons, two cases were concluded without booking and two cases were not forwarded.

After an additional report was filed in March, the police re-examined the case records, seized and searched the mobile phones of A's group to confirm chat logs conspiring to commit the crimes, and expanded their investigation.

A police official explained, "Through an additional investigation triggered by a victim's family member, we were able to confirm the overall criminal acts."

(Photo: Provided by Yonhap News TV, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.