Seven South Korean nationals were arrested in Siem Reap province Monday on suspicion of attempting to extort money from foreigners through Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, after a further six were detained for allegedly committing the same crime last month, an immigration official said Tuesday.
Kao Maovirak, provincial immigration police chief, said the most recent arrests of six men and one woman came after four days of covert surveillance by his officials in Siem Reap City’s Svay Dangkum commune.
“Now we are questioning them one by one; we have just finished questioning five Korean men and we will finish [Wednesday] and they will then be sent to the provincial court,” said Mr. Maovirak, adding that the group’s computers had also been seized.
On February 22, six South Korean men were arrested in the same commune on suspicion of using VoIP and illegal gambling websites to con unsuspecting customers, said Mr. Maovirak at the time.
A further seven South Korean men were arrested last year for VoIP-related crimes.
