Gang of Fences Arrested for Buying Stolen Mobile Phones and Smuggling Them Overseas

A group of fence operators who earned about 100 million won in criminal proceeds by purchasing stolen mobile phones and smuggling them overseas was caught by the police.

On the 25th, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Subway Police Unit announced that they had arrested a total of 13 individuals on the 18th, including six phone traffickers?Mr. A, a phone trafficker; Mr. B, a fence; and Mr. C, a phone trafficker?as well as seven thieves. Stolen goods were found at the residence of a Chinese peddler who acted as a courier by delivering mobile phones. /Provided by Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency

On the 25th, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Subway Police Unit announced that on the 18th, they arrested a total of 13 people, including six fence operators?phone fence A, fence broker B, fence C?and seven thieves on charges of receiving stolen goods, facilitating stolen goods, and theft. Among them, eight were detained. In addition, 4.69 million won in cash, 18 mobile phones, and ledgers were seized.

According to the police, since March of this year until the 16th of this month, A purchased stolen mobile phones from professional thieves and handed them over to B. B then passed the stolen goods to C, the main fence operator, who smuggled them overseas either to China or directly to the Philippines through Chinese peddlers acting as couriers. C transferred about 100 million won from the proceeds of the stolen goods transaction to B’s account, and B delivered 90 million won of that amount to A.

The stolen mobile phones handed over by C were received by overseas fencing organizations. These overseas groups sent phishing text messages impersonating the 'Apple Customer Center' with a 'contact synchronization' message to victims. They stole victims’ IDs and passwords and pretended to be the customer center to unlock the phones.

While investigating a thief arrested on July 23, the police identified A’s identity. After tracking and shadowing A, they also uncovered the identities of B and C, and after about 80 days of pursuit, they arrested the fence operators. To evade police tracking, they conducted transactions during late night and early morning hours in blind spots without CCTV in Seoul, Suwon, and residential areas. To destroy evidence, they contacted couriers via Telegram and threw stolen goods into warehouses.

A police official stated, "We will continue to actively investigate crimes occurring in the subway and relentlessly pursue thieves and fences."

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