South Korean police accuse trio of drugging golfer in betting scam
Seoul investigators say three elderly suspects spiked a rival's coffee with sleeping medication to fix a high-stakes golf wager and pocket $52,000.
Police in Seoul have referred three South Korean men in their 60s and 70s to prosecutors over an alleged scheme to drug a golf opponent so they could win a $52,000 wager, Casino.org News reported.
Namdaemun Police Station said the suspects face charges of fraud and violations of the Narcotics Control Act following the Oct. 30 referral. One man remains in custody; the other two were referred without detention.
The alleged scam centred on a match at a golf course in Gyeonggi Province, just outside Seoul, on July 30. According to investigators, the three had spent months building trust with their target, deliberately losing earlier rounds of betting golf after first approaching him in May before raising the stakes for the final encounter.
On the day of the match, police said the suspects struck while the victim had briefly left for the restroom. One kept watch at the entrance while another opened a disposable coffee cup and added a drug that had reportedly been prepared beforehand.
The victim went on to play 36 holes across two rounds while suffering impaired motor skills and judgment, investigators said. MBC television reported the substance used was a sleeping agent capable of causing short-term memory loss.
After play finished, the three allegedly told him he had lost the bet and demanded payment at a nearby restaurant. He transferred 75 million won, equivalent to roughly $52,000, to an account they controlled, according to police. MBC reported that the golfer later grew suspicious of the encounter and reported it to authorities.
Security camera footage from the course allegedly shows the suspects putting a substance into the coffee, watching for the victim's return, and then handing him the drink. Urine and hair tests subsequently detected psychotropic substances in his system, and investigators cross-checked his prescription history with medical specialists to confirm the drugs had not been legitimately prescribed.
Police said the conspiracy involved a clear division of roles: one suspect recruited the victim and sourced the drug, a second spiked the coffee and managed the payment, and a third acted as lookout. The man alleged to have handled the proceeds is also accused of laundering the money before splitting it among the group.
A police official quoted by The Korea Herald said the case "shows that drug-related crime has penetrated the everyday spaces where citizens go to enjoy their leisure time," adding that officers "will respond sternly to drug crimes that disrupt ordinary life and mobilize all investigative resources to eradicate related offenses."
Neither the golf course nor any of the individuals involved have been publicly identified.