Russian Subway Pickpocket Gang on a Korea Trip... All 3 Members Arrested

A Russian pickpocket gang, who entered the country and stole items on the subway, has been arrested. It was confirmed that they had pre-assigned roles through social networking services (SNS) and committed crimes for about two weeks before planning to flee back to their home country.

On the 22nd, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Subway Police Unit announced that on the 13th, they urgently arrested A (38, female), B (45, male), and C (45, male), all Russian nationals, on charges of special theft. The incident occurred on the Seoul Subway Line 9 on the 4th, where the suspects committed the crime against a woman. Photo by Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency

On the 22nd, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's subway police unit announced that they had urgently arrested Russian nationals A (38, female), B (45, male), and C (45, male) on the 13th on charges of special theft. They were detained on the 15th.

They are accused of dividing roles and committing pickpocketing on the crowded Seoul subway starting from the 4th. A was responsible for blocking victims from getting off by preventing them from exiting. C followed the victims to divert people's attention, while B directly took wallets from bags.

They committed a crime once on the Seoul Subway Line 9 at 4:03 PM on the 4th, and on the 8th, they stole items at the Euljiro 3-ga Station platform. They were caught by police who were lying in wait and tailing them inside a train passing through Myeongdong Station on the 13th. At the time of arrest, they were found in possession of three mobile phones, 5,587,000 KRW in cash, and department store gift certificates worth 1,545,000 KRW, all of which the police confiscated.

They had divided their roles even before entering the country. According to the police investigation, they conspired to commit pickpocket crimes through SNS on the 17th of last month. It was revealed that they planned to commit crimes for 15 days domestically and then return to their home country.

A police official stated, "We will continue investigating additional crimes by requesting forensic analysis of the three confiscated mobile phones," and added, "To prevent pickpocketing on the subway, we advise passengers not to carry bags without locks on their sides or backs, but to wear them in front when boarding."

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