3 teens booked on suspicion of robbery

Three teenagers were apprehended in connection with 28 robberies involving 20 million won ($17,900) worth of cash, cigarettes and other items.

According to the Busan Jin Police station on Monday, a 16-year-old surnamed Park and two 17-year-olds surnamed Kim and Choi were booked without detention on suspicion of special larceny and intimidation. 

Park is accused of stealing cash and cigarettes worth some 20 million won on 28 occasions. Most of the alleged crimes took place at night, including one incident at a market in Busan on Jan. 14 at 2:30 a.m.

On the same day, Kim is accused of stealing some 2 million won worth of cash and cigarettes from two stores and a motorcycle from a pedestrian. Choi is accused of knowingly possessing stolen cigarettes.

The police arrested the suspects at a motel in Bujeon-dong, Busan, where they lived, after analyzing footage from nearby closed-circuit televisions. Some 200 packs of cigarettes were confiscated.

By Kim Hye-soo (clairek@heraldcorp.com)