2 migrant workers arrested for allegedly using handmade air guns to hunt pigeons for food

A view of Iksan Police Station in North Jeolla Province / Courtesy of Jeonbuk Provincial Police Agency

Police said Wednesday they arrested two migrant workers in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, on suspicion of manufacturing illegal air guns and using them to hunt pigeons. One of them was identified only as a Thai man in his 30s.

According to Iksan Police Station, the two are accused of violating the Act on the Safety Management of Guns, Swords, Explosives, etc., by allegedly manufacturing imitation firearms and engaging in illegal hunting.

The case began on March 16, when a resident in Iksan filed a police report after hearing what sounded like gunshots, prompting officers to respond to the scene. When police arrived, they found an abandoned car, four imitation firearms and 20 iron pellets.

Police later identified the suspects through interviews with local residents and launched a search. The two men were arrested separately at an apple farm in Cheongsong County, North Gyeongsang Province, and at another farm in Buyeo County, South Chungcheong Province.

Investigators said the suspects used handmade air guns in a bamboo grove to hunt pigeons for food. The two had entered Korea legally, but were found to have been working after their visas had expired.

Police referred the case to prosecutors and handed the two men over to immigration authorities. They are also expected to face deportation and an entry ban.

“We will strengthen crackdowns on the manufacture and possession of illegal weapons, including homemade firearms,” police said.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.