On November 26, Daegu Police Agency (Korea) announced a successful dismantling of a large-scale emotional fraud organization operating in Cambodia. The operation resulted in a total of 26 arrests, including the Korean mastermind ( identified as A) who is only 26 years old.
The authorities have prosecuted and detained 12 key subjects. At the same time, 14 other subjects, including those who assisted in money laundering in Korea, were also prosecuted but released on bail to serve the investigation.
According to the investigation results, from July 2024 to May 2025, this gang carried out a sophisticated fraud campaign in cyberspace. They sent a series of messages via social media platforms to strange men in Korea, advertising attractive services such as " conditional dating".
When the "prey" bites the fish, the scammers will lure them to pay money for a series of different reasons such as: Membership registration fee, discount issuance fee, or file recovery fee... In total, 136 victims have fallen into the trap. The amount of money misappropriated amounted to a huge amount of 6.41 billion won (equivalent to about 4.6 million USD or 116 billion VND).
A particularly notable detail in this project is the location of the criminal organization's activities. South Korean police said the group had established a "headquarters" including offices and concentrated housing areas located in a "criminal complex" located right next to the Cambodian border.
This complex is described as an intangible "fortress", strictly protected 24/7 by the armed private security forces, making it difficult for outsiders to penetrate and access.
The structure of this organization is clearly divided. The A leader is responsible for recruiting personnel, collecting "garbage" bank accounts and directly operating the money laundering network. In addition to A, the police also identified a co- mastermind as Chinese (called B). Subject B is responsible for managing the overall complex and providing operating capital, and is still on the run.
Last April, when a domestic member was arrested, A quickly fled to Cambodia. However, Daegu Police coordinated with Interpol and local police to identify A's hiding place in Phnom Penh and arrest him after 6 months on the run.
A representative of Daegu Police affirmed: "We will continue to pursue overseas investigation targets for cross-border fraud crimes and do our best to eliminate the ringleaders."
