Police apprehend 114 suspects based in Cambodia over 'no-show,' other fraud schemes

This photo shows a suspect of a scam ring based in Cambodia being escorted by police through Incheon International Airport, Monday. Courtesy of the Gangwon Provincial Police

Police have apprehended 114 suspects associated with a scam ring based in Cambodia for "no-show" and other fraud schemes targeting businesses in Korea, officials said Monday.

The Gangwon Provincial Police said the suspects, both Koreans and foreigners, were apprehended, with 18 under formal arrest, following an investigation into 560 fraud cases.

In the fraud cases, the suspects posed as political party officials, military officers or presidential staff to place false orders with restaurants and other businesses without showing up for reservations, swindling them out of a total of 6.9 billion won ($4.8 million).

After identifying the base of the scam ring at a criminal complex in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, police raided its call center in collaboration with the National Police Agency, Interpol and the National Intelligence Service to apprehend the suspects.

Roughly 80 percent of those caught were in their 20s or 30s, and four of them were teenagers. One in four suspects was female.

The call center in Cambodia, operated by the overseas scam ring, was responsible for laundering the group's criminal proceeds and other illegal operations, according to the investigation.

Police concluded that the suspects voluntarily took part in the crimes after joining the ring through global messaging app Telegram.