Police thwart bid to smuggle 100 Vietnameses into Korea

/ Korea Times file

Brokers who tried to smuggle 100 Vietnameses into Korea using a cargo ship have been caught in Busan, police said Wednesday.

According to the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency, three brokers, identified only as “S,” 60, “O,” 52, and “K,” 55, were arrested for allegedly plotting with a brokers’ group in Vietnam to smuggle the 100 Vietnameses. They said “S” was wanted on charges of smuggling about 100 Chineses and “K” allegedly smuggled nine Koreans into Japan last March.

Police allege the three received 8 million won ($650) a person from the Vietnameses and tried to lease a 500-ton cargo ship to smuggle them in. The brokers would have made 600 million won ($490,000) if they succeeded, because only 200 million won would be needed to hire the ship and its crew, police said.