Russian, Uzbek men nabbed for gun smuggling

SEOUL, March 29 (Yonhap) -- A Russian man and a Uzbek man, who once worked as
part-time TV actors in South Korea, have been arrested for attempting to sell a
military pistol smuggled from Russia, police said Sunday.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, the unidentified Russian man
and his Uzbek friend received the pistol along with eight bullets last May from
another Russian who was deported out of the country for drug smuggling.
The suspects came to South Korea in 2003 on a short-term visa and have since
managed to live here with meager income from appearing in Korean TV shows or
dramas after their visa expired.
Police said the pistol is the same type of weapon used in a Russian gang-related
murder in southern city of Busan in 2003. In the high-profile case, a Russian
mafia head was shot to death by a hit man apparently sent here by its rival gang.
The suspects are still at large.
brk@yna.co.kr
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