Police arrest kidnapper with bogus cash

SEOUL, Feb. 28 (Yonhap) -- Police said Saturday they arrested a 32-year-old man who allegedly kidnapped a female bakery owner and has been using a counterfeit ransom provided by police for her release.

Jeong Seung-hee and an accomplice broke into a bakery in western Seoul earlier
this month and abducted the female owner. The suspects released her the next day
after police gave them a bag of fake bills worth 70 million won (US$45,622) that
allowed authorities to track the criminals more easily.
"Police arrested Jeong, who had been hiding out in a house outside Seoul. We are
looking into the identity of the home owner and whether there is any connection
to the suspect," an official said. Jeong's accomplice, identified only by his
surname Shim, was arrested on Feb. 14.
Concerns have mounted that the forged bills may begin to circulate throughout the
country as a portion of the money was used by the kidnappers with police failing
to recall the notes for more than two weeks. According to police, the suspects
used 7.04 million won out of the total on four separate occasions.
"We have yet to find the forged bills," the police official said, adding that
further investigation of Jeong was needed.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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