Mastermind Behind Trillion-Won Overseas Gambling Ring Arrested After 12 Years

The mastermind behind a large-scale criminal organization that operated an illegal gambling website worth trillions of won from overseas has been arrested and extradited following a joint government investigation.

Another man, who operated a gambling site worth 500 billion won, was also apprehended and brought back to Korea.

The Pan-Government Joint Task Force on Transnational Crime announced that it had arrested two high-level gambling site operators in cooperation with authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and extradited them to Korea through Incheon International Airport today (July 4).

The suspect, identified as A, is accused of operating a gambling website worth 4.8 trillion won, based in Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines, and laundering massive criminal proceeds.

After fleeing overseas in 2014, he spent 12 years on the run, moving between the Philippines, Malaysia, and Cambodia to evade authorities, before finally being captured in the UAE.

Suspect A is also accused of evading 66 billion won in taxes while running the illegal gambling site, as well as charges related to the distribution and use of narcotics and prostitution.

He is also suspected of being involved in the death of a Korean national in Malaysia in 2018, and an investigation into this matter is expected to follow.

The other suspect, identified as B, is accused of operating an illegal gambling site worth 500 billion won by recruiting middle and high school students to assist in the illegal operations.

Suspect B was also apprehended in the UAE.

The joint government task force stated that it successfully captured the suspects after a long-term investigation involving intelligence analysis and international cooperation, during which they tracked the suspects' locations and gathered data on criminal proceeds and accomplices.

The task force added that despite the difficulties in operating flights by Korean airlines due to the conflict in the Middle East, they were able to extradite the suspects using a local airline with the cooperation of UAE authorities.

The government stated, "This case demonstrates the strong investigative will of the authorities and our international cooperation capabilities," adding, "We will continue to track down and arrest similar cyber-gambling organizations that continue their criminal activities while hiding overseas."

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