Police detain two Vietnamese in gang related crime

SEOUL, Oct. 28 (Yonhap) -- The police have detained two Vietnamese gang members on robbery and kidnapping charges and are looking for seven more on related crimes, investigators said Tuesday.

The nine, whose full names were withheld, are suspected of kidnapping members of
their rival gangs and extorting money, according to police.
One of those arrested, a 43-year-old member of a group called "Bukbangpa,"
allegedly abducted four members from a rival group called "Nambangpa" in
September last year and blackmailed them for over 5 million won (US$3,380),
police said.
In retribution, members of Nambangpa kidnapped and extorted 7.54 million won from
the rival gang, they said.
Police suspect the Vietnamese gangsters needed money as most of them are
unemployed and are in the country illegally.
"Each of them knew that they cannot report the case to police, afraid of being
discovered for being in the country illegally," a police official said.