The Story of Nowon-gu CCTV Operator Mr. A Capturing Marijuana Dealers in Action?

January 30 Early Morning CCTV Surveillance Captures Marijuana Deal, 2 Dealers Arrested... Suspicious Individuals Monitored Intensively for 25 Minutes, Seen Exchanging Plastic Bags and Cash... After Detecting Suspected Marijuana, Police Requested to Dispatch Officers to Station 112 Control Room

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it apprehended drug dealers through CCTV monitoring at the Smart City Integrated Operation Center.

At around 1:05 a.m. on January 30, a CCTV monitoring officer at the Smart City Integrated Operation Center spotted a suspicious man acting strangely in front of an apartment shopping area, looking around furtively.

Sensing something unusual, the monitoring officer zoomed in on the CCTV footage and began closely observing the man's movements.

After 16 minutes, another man wearing a hat and a mask covering his face appeared. The two exchanged a brief nod and a short conversation, then exchanged a small plastic bag and cash.

Although the transaction seemed suspicious, the officer delayed reporting to the police, considering it might be a secondhand goods deal, and decided to continue monitoring their behavior.

About 9 minutes later, around 1:30 a.m., the two were seen sharing a cigarette and handling an object that appeared to be leaves.

Suspecting a marijuana deal, the monitoring officer immediately informed the police officer stationed at the center. The officer promptly contacted the police station’s 112 comprehensive situation room and the nearby Danghyeon police substation, requesting patrol car dispatch.

The police responded immediately, deploying six vehicles around the nearby roads. Through on-site inspections, they arrested the drug buyer, Mr. Hwang (23, unemployed), and the seller, an Indian man (43, chef), in flagrante delicto.

The person who detected this drug transaction has been working at the Integrated Operation Center since July 2015 and is Officer OOO.

This is the first time that a basic local government CCTV monitoring center, rather than a dedicated drug crime task force, has apprehended drug offenders. This case highlights the monitoring officer’s intuition, honed through long experience and a strong sense of duty, even during the tiring and concentration-challenging early morning hours.

Additionally, the cooperation system among the police officer stationed at the monitoring center, the police station, and the substation was swift and close-knit.

The district office plans to award a commendation from the mayor to Officer OOO and the police officer who promptly requested police dispatch. Officer OOO has previously received a commendation from the Nowon Police Chief for contributions to capturing major criminals and rescuing victims.

The Nowon Smart City Integrated Operation Center, established in 2011, has a history of criminal apprehensions. Starting with the arrest of a motorcycle thief and a street murder suspect in 2014, it also caught five men and women attempting theft by unlocking bicycle locks in 2018. In 2019, suspects who broke convenience store glass to steal safes and those who hijacked delivery packages were apprehended, and even drunk driving vehicles were detected and caught via CCTV.

The Nowon Smart City Integrated Operation Center was selected as the “Best CCTV Monitoring Center in the Second Half of 2018” by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. The center has achieved a total of 7,137 arrests and preventive actions up to last year, discovering violent crimes, minor offenses, wanted and suspicious vehicles annually.

Currently, Nowon-gu has a total of 1,990 CCTVs installed around schools, school routes, parks, and other locations. The center operates 24/7 with four police officers dispatched from Nowon Police Station and 16 monitoring officers working in four shifts, monitoring real-time CCTV footage to promptly resolve various incidents and accidents occurring in the area.

Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “Like the recent arrest of drug dealers, the CCTV monitoring center plays a pivotal role in crime prevention and rapid response to incidents, protecting the lives and safety of residents.” He added, “We will spare no effort in supporting facilities and personnel for crime prevention so that residents can live happily in the safest city.”

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This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.