The leader of a gang of bicycle thieves recently arrested by the police in North Hamgyong Province will likely receive a slap on the wrist due to his connections with the country’s state security agency, Daily NK has learned.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source in the province told Daily NK on Tuesday that the provincial branch of the Ministry of Social Security “arrested a five-member gang in late January that had been earning money by stealing bicycles and using the same method near provincial offices, companies, and universities for several years.
According to the source, police officials had received numerous reports over the past few years of bicycle thefts near government offices, businesses, and universities in major cities in the province, including Chongjin, Kimchaek, and Kilju. Police doggedly pursued the case over the past year and finally caught the five-man crew that had been stealing the bikes.
North Koreans usually lock their bicycles outside their workplaces or schools, but the gang cut the locks to steal them. The crew disassembled the stolen bicycles, repainted and reassembled them to make them unrecognizable, and sold them in the market or sold the parts to bicycle repair shops.
The five-member gang was made up of university students and ordinary laborers. The thefts occurred near government offices, businesses, and universities because the criminals carried out their activities near their places of work or study.
Gang used “inside men” in heists
In addition, the police discovered that they had accomplices in the agencies, companies, and universities themselves. The source told Daily NK that “to steal bicycles, one must first enter the front or back gates of the agencies, enterprises or universities and collude with the guards, so they placed accomplices inside.”
These “inside men” would tell the gang where to find the bikes worth stealing, or stand guard while the thieves plied their trade in exchange for bribes.
The bike thieves and their accomplices, who are currently being questioned by the provincial police, are likely to receive heavy sentences, but the head of the gang is expected to receive little more than a slap on the wrist.
The individual is protected by the Chongjin branch of the Ministry of State Security, where he is registered as a truck driver. The source said some people say the police had such a hard time catching the gang last year because the criminals had the Chongjin branch of the Ministry of State Security behind them.
“The provincial police complained that they couldn’t move aggressively against the [gang leader, who was] registered with the municipal branch of the Ministry of State Security,” the source said. “The rest of the gang will probably receive re-education through labor, but it seems the gang leader will only receive a fine.”
“With the head of the gang likely to escape a heavy sentence with the help of the Ministry of State Security, people who know about the case say that the thief received a light sentence because he’s part of a powerful organization like the Ministry of State Security, so this kind of organized crime could occur again. They are complaining that the law has no meaning [in North Korea].”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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