[Herald Business DB]
[Herald Business DB]

A teenager was arrested moments after stealing jewelry worth tens of millions of won from a seller he had contacted through a used-goods trading platform.

The Daejeon Jungbu Police Station said Sunday it had booked the 17-year-old suspect, identified only as A, without detention on theft charges and is investigating the case.

According to police, A approached seller B at a park in Jung-gu, Daejeon, at around 3:45 a.m. Saturday and stole a diamond bracelet worth 30 million won (about $19,700). Investigators found that A had posed as a buyer before asking B to fasten the bracelet onto his wrist during the in-person handoff, then fled the moment B complied.

Officers who responded to B's report searched the area and apprehended A within 20 minutes, finding him loitering near the scene. Police also recovered the diamond bracelet from A and returned it to the victim.

"We are investigating the specific motive behind the crime and whether there were any additional offenses," a police official said.


hwshin@heraldcorp.com