Police Arrest 14 More Individuals for Online Illegal Sword Sales and Purchases

Possession of Unauthorized Bladed Weapons and E-commerce
Scheduled for Sequential Non-Detention Referral

The police have arrested 14 additional individuals for illegally selling and purchasing blades online.

Three Japanese swords seized by the police from a seller on a secondhand trading platform.
[Photo by Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency]

On the 13th, the Crime Prevention and Order Division's Vice Crime Investigation Team of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that they had apprehended 14 people on charges of violating the Act on the Safety Control of Firearms, Swords, and Explosives.

Company A was charged with two co-owners being booked because, even though they had permission to manufacture and sell blades, conducting electronic commerce was illegal. Additionally, five suspects who sold blades without permission between individuals through a secondhand trading platform were arrested. Furthermore, the police secured a list of buyers from the previously cracked down unlicensed blade seller Company B, arresting seven people who illegally possessed blades without permission and confiscating 30 blades. The police plan to sequentially send the suspects for prosecution without detention once the investigation is completed.

A Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency official stated, "With the public's growing anxiety about blade management, we conducted this thorough inspection and crackdown on illegal online distribution to alleviate concerns," adding, "Not only unlicensed sales businesses but also electronic commerce and unlicensed possession using the internet are illegal acts subject to the Firearms and Explosives Control Act, so please exercise caution."

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