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🚭 Cigarette Mistake Hands Over $13 Million Crypto Scammer to Police A 60-year-old fugitive behind a $13 million cryptocurrency scam in South Korea has been caught—all because he dropped a cigarette on the street. For nearly five years, he'd managed to stay hidden. But his escape didn't end with a high-stakes sting or an international manhunt—it ended because he dropped a cigarette on a Seoul street. From Crypto Scammer to Street Litterer Seoul Metropolitan Police said they stopped the man on Wednesday in the Gwanak district after he dropped a cigarette butt and tried to flee. When questioned, he refused to show his ID. He offered officers money and even pleaded, "Let me go just this once," while trying to hail a taxi. He then pretended to make a phone call and tried to run again but was immediately arrested. Officers quickly realized the man, identified only as A, was more than just a cigarette slugger. Investigators later discovered that he was the mastermind of a 17.7 billion won ($13 million) cryptocurrency scam that defrauded about 1,300 people between 2018 and 2019. After the scam, he disappeared in 2020, but his attempt ended this week when he was handed over to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office. He was already a fugitive wanted on 10 charges, including fraud and assault. Other Crypto Scammers Slipped Up This isn't the first time a crypto scammer has stumbled due to a careless mistake. In 2012, James Chung stole 50,000 bitcoins from Silk Road. That would be worth more than $5.6 billion today. Instead of laundering it clean, he hoarded the