South Korean police say they are hunting for a suspect accused of stealing 240 million won ($167,000) in cash during a USDT OTC (over-the-counter) trade.
Per the South Korean news agency Yonhap, the incident allegedly took place on February 21 in the city of Incheon.
USDT OTC ‘Theft’ – Police Searching for Suspect
Speaking on February 23, officers at Incheon Seobu (West) Police Station said that the “thief” arranged to meet the “victim” on the first floor of a commercial building in West Incheon’s Seoknam District.
Incheon Seobu Police Station, in Incheon, South Korea. (Source: hyolee2 [CC BY-SA 3.0])The unnamed “victim” was described as a man in his “thirties.” Police said the “victim” responded to a “post in a KakaoTalk open chatroom” from a vendor offering to “sell USDT coins” at a low price.
Officers said the “victim” and the suspect exchanged chat messages via the app and eventually arranged to meet.
The USDT market cap over the past seven days. (Source: CoinMarketCap)Police Unsure of Suspect’s Nationality
The suspect allegedly told the “victim” that they would transfer the coins to the former’s wallet and then take the cash as payment. However, the “victim” explained:
“I put the cash on the floor in a paper bag to complete transaction. But while I was looking away for a moment, [the suspect] ran away with it.”
The police said that they believed that the suspect came from a “Central Asian country,” but admitted they did not know exactly what the suspect’s “nationality” was.
A police official told the media that investigators were hunting for the suspect for alleged “theft”-related offenses.
However, they added that they would not decide on “specific charges” until they had “arrested” the suspect.
On February 23, Cryptonews.com found several posts in crypto-related KakaoTalk open chatrooms from individuals saying they wanted to swap coins for cash as part of in-person deals.
USDT – Popular in and Around Seoul?
USDT-related OTC thefts appear to be on the rise in South Korea, particularly in Incheon and nearby regions.
In May last year, four men pleaded guilty to stealing some $735,000 from a USDT OTC buyer in a similar case.
Police officers have alleged that “violent gangs” that are “active in Incheon” are increasingly trying to target unsuspecting local crypto traders.
The popularity of crypto is growing fast in Incheon and other cities close to the South Korean capital, Seoul.
Kim (first name withheld), a resident of Ilsan in Gyeonggi Province, told Cryptonews.com:
“Almost everyone I know either has an interest in crypto or is actively trading coins now. There’s a lot of talk about stablecoins nowadays, especially USDT.”
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