5 suspects busted for illegally selling military items

5 suspects busted for illegally selling military items. August. 26, 2011 03:49. tigermask@donga.com.

The international crime investigation team of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency booked five people Thursday on the charge of illegal distribution of military articles.

Since 2000, the suspects have allegedly run unlicensed military goods stores in Itaewon in Seoul and Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province. The items traded include missiles and missile launchers allegedly leaked from U.S. Army bases and night vision goggles and mobile phone walkie-talkies used by Korean forces.

Missiles for training that the suspects tried to sell for 100,000 to 200,000 won (92 to 184 U.S. dollars) each posed no risk of explosion due to lack of warheads, but could have been detonated if mounted on launching devices, according to police.

The missiles are suspected of being trafficked from a black market in the Cheonggye Stream area in Seoul and companies are discarding military items. So police will send serial numbers of the missiles to U.S. military authorities to identify their distribution channels.

One of the suspects is known to have sold Chinese-made military field jackets for 150,000 to 170,000 won (138 to 157 dollars) each through online shopping malls from 2009.

Police also seized fake military uniforms including desert camouflage attire worn by the Korean Zaytun unit stationed in Iraq. They were so well forged that even military experts had a hard time distinguishing them from the genuine ones.

A police source said, “If the forged military uniforms fall into North Korea`s hands, they can be used in terrorism as they look the same as the original.”