Son Heung-min agency responds as two arrested over fake pregnancy blackmail plot
Two people have been arrested in South Korea over a fake pregnancy blackmail plot which targeted Tottenham captain Son Heung-min.
Police in Seoul have detained a woman in her 20s, identified as Ms. A, and a man in his 40s, identified as Ms. B, on charges of extortion and attempted extortion.
According to the police, Ms. A demanded money while claiming to be pregnant with Son's child in June last year.
It's claimed that Ms. A asked Son to give her several hundred million won. At the current exchange rate, 100,000,000 South Korean won is worth £53,800.
In March, Son was then approached by Ms. A's acquaintance, Ms. B, who demanded additional money.
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link so we can send you football news tailored to you.
Son reported the two to the police on May 7 and the pair were arrested on Wednesday. An investigation is now under way to discover the extent of the blackmail scheme involving the Tottenham and South Korea forward.
Son's agency said in a statement: 'Son & Football Limited has reported to the police the individuals who have been blackmailing the player by spreading false information for extortion. The police are currently investigating, and we will inform you as soon as the investigation results are available.
'Son & Football Limited will take strong legal action to ensure that those who have been blackmailing with clear false information are punished without leniency. We want to emphasise that Son Heung-min is the clear victim of this incident. More Trending
'We would like to apologise once again to everyone who has supported Son Heung-min for any concern caused by this unfortunate incident.'
Son, who joined Tottenham in a £22 million deal from German side Bayer Leverkusen in 2015, has previously said that he is not planning to get married until after he ends his playing career.
The 32-year-old, who has previously dated K-pop stars Bang Min-ah and Yoo So-young, said in an interview with The Guardian: 'My father says this and I agree, as well, when you marry, the number one will be family, wife and kids, and then football.
'I want to make sure that while I play at the top level, football can be number one. You don't know how long you can play at the top level. When you retire, or when you are 33 or 34, you can still have a long life with your family.'
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
MORE: Liverpool told to do 'everything they can' to sign £63m star from Chelsea
MORE: Nottingham Forest star Taiwo Awoniyi wakes from coma after abdominal surgery
MORE: Man Utd legend Paul Scholes makes 'illogical' Europa League final prediction
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Edinburgh Live
17 minutes ago
- Edinburgh Live
Madeleine McCann police find 'clothing and bones' in latest search update
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Investigators probing Madeleine McCann's vanishing have dispatched minuscule fragments found during last week's dig to Germany for analysis. The search near where the British toddler vanished, a spot frequented by convicted German sex offender Christian Brueckner, 38, seemed fruitless last Thursday as detectives came up empty-handed in finding solid clues linked to the case. However, it has emerged that small pieces of clothing and bone were unearthed, potentially linking Brueckner, the prime suspect for German authorities, to the crime. A source disclosed to the Berlin Morning Post: "Several objects have apparently been discovered, which are now being examined in more detail by the police in the laboratory. As Portuguese media report, clothing debris and bones were found, among other things. "The investigators have not officially commented on whether the finds could have anything to do with Madeleine's disappearance but that is clearly their hope." The specimens are currently undergoing tests in Germany, with law enforcement optimistic they might yield a forensic breakthrough in a mystery that has baffled sleuths since 2007, when three year old Madeleine disappeared from her holiday flat in Praia da Luz as her parents dined nearby. Brueckner is nearing the end of his prison term after his 2020 conviction for raping an elderly American tourist in 2005 at the same resort where Madeleine was last seen, reports the Express. He has been under suspicion in the McCann case since 2020, though he hasn't faced formal charges and denies any involvement. Just last week, German officers scoured an area near where the young girl vanished, deploying cutting-edge ground-penetrating radar in hopes of a breakthrough. Initial reports suggested that the search yielded little beyond animal remains and adult garments as prosecutors hurry to stop Brueckner from being set free. Brueckner was found guilty in 2016 of assaulting a five year old in a park, with incriminating images discovered on his computer, leading to a 15-month jail term. After getting out of prison, Brueckner allegedly told a mate in a pub during the 10th-anniversary coverage of Madeleine's disappearance that he "knew all about" what had happened to her. In the same year, he supposedly mentioned to someone else that Maddie "did not scream", but the credibility of this witness has been questioned.
Daily Mirror
19 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
All the clues that finally nailed paedo sex pest as prime Maddie McCann suspect
Christian Brueckner has been the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann since 2020, and investigators are in a 'race against time' to charge the convicted sex offender Currently serving a seven-year sentence for the 2005 rape of a 72 year old American tourist near where Madeleine McCann vanished, Christian Brueckner has been the official suspect in the British toddler's disappearance since 2020 – yet he has always protested his innocence and has never been formally charged. Now, it appears this 18 year-long search has become the only means left for German authorities to keep the sex offender behind bars. "It's now or never," read a headline in Germany's Bild newspaper this week. Meanwhile, 47 year old Brueckner has made his feelings perfectly clear in an extraordinary interview with German journalist Ulrich Oppold, in which he described looking forward to "a nice steak and beer" upon release. Refusing to answer any questions about Madeleine, he instead admitted he planned to flee if released from prison. Here we break down Brueckner's dark past and how he became the main suspect in the missing case leaving Maddie's family in turmoil. READ MORE: Six major questions raised by Madeleine McCann suspect's letter - from DNA to photos First conviction In 1994, when he was just 17, Brueckner was first convicted of child sexual abuse, attempted abuse, and performing sexual acts in front of a child. But to avoid a youth custody sentence, he fled to Portugal with a girlfriend, prompting a European arrest warrant. After the couple split, Brueckner lived as a drifter, taking on various odd jobs before settling in a dilapidated house near the Praia da Luz resort in the mid-1990s. He frequently returned to the area over the years and has since been linked to the disappearances of seven-year-old Jair Soares and 16-year-old Belgian tourist Carola Titze, both of whom vanished around that period. In 1999, Portuguese authorities eventually apprehended him and returned him to Germany to serve his youth sentence, raising concerns over why he was not monitored more closely afterward. Police evasion Over the next two decades, Brueckner moved between Germany and Portugal, managing to evade criminal proceedings varying from drug trafficking to theft and sexual offences. Witnesses during a later rape trial described him as living a life of petty crime, often targeting holiday apartments with "open windows," the Telegraph reports. The rape for which he is currently imprisoned occurred in 2005. The victim, a 72-year-old American woman, lived in a flat just half a mile from where Madeleine would disappear two years later. Late one night, Brueckner broke into her home, assaulted her with a 30cm scimitar – a short, curved sword – before sexually assaulting her. The rape was investigated in Portugal but the police eventually shelved the case. It was only much later that a former accomplice of Brueckner's, who had stolen diesel with him, which lead to Brueckner's 2006 arrest, discovered a video of the rape and reported it to the police. In late 2019, Brueckner was finally sentenced. The convicted sex offender was reportedly staying in a camper van just several miles away from the apartment the McCanns were staying at when Madeleine vanished. In 2020, police revealed that his phone placed him in the vicinity on the night she disappeared. Brueckner has always denied any involement. Huge investigation 'error' The 48 year old was first associated with Madeleine's case in 2013 after the McCanns appealed for information on the German equivalent of Crimewatch, Aktenzeichen XY. Among around 500 calls, authorities received a credible tip. A former associate matched Brueckner to a sketch of a man seen by the site where Madeleine vanished. Following the McCanns' TV appeal, police in the German town of Braunschweig - Brueckner's residence at the time - sent a letter to Brueckner inviting him to be interviewed as a witness in the "missing person case of Madeleine McCann".. Jon Clarke, a journalist and author of My Search for Madeleine, argues this was a monumental misstep "They messed up, they sent a policeman around to his house and told him he had to appear in a police station three days later to answer questions in the case of Madeleine McCann," Clarke wrote."They actually wrote it on the letter, so he was completely warned, and in those three days who knows what happened?" An officer who spoke to Der Spiegel magazine in Germany also acknowledged the error, saying: "This should not have happened and in no way complies with common procedure in such a delicate case." Clarke suggests that Brueckner's evasion is partly due to the involvement of numerous German police forces, his travels across Germany, as well as trips to Portugal and back, which has led to a lack of communication between agencies. "In different police forces, and it's been very difficult therefore to piece things together," he explained. However, Brueckner's criminal past began to catch up with him. In 2017, he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a child in Germany in 2013 - the five year old daughter of a former girlfriend - and was sentenced to 15 months behind bars. The assault took place in a public park and explicit photos were later discovered on a digital camera when police were probing him for a separate domestic violence allegation. Shock Maddie claim Following his release from prison on sex assault charges, it is reported that Brueckner was in a pub with a friend when televisions broadcasted the 10th-anniversary coverage of Madeleine's disappearance. This allegedly led him to admit that he "knew all about" what had happened to her, before allegedly showing a video of himself raping a woman. It is believed that his friend then reported him to the authorities. In the same year, Helge B, a former friend of Brueckner's, reportedly claimed that the suspect confessed to killing the three-year-old, saying she "didn't scream". Helge once claimed he had stolen a camera and videotapes showing Brückner raping several women - and this evidence helped put him behind bars for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman, a crime he is currently serving a prison sentence in Germany for. While Brueckner's lawyer alleged Helge's testimony was false, these claims were thrown out by a judge. Brueckner was apprehended the following year in Italy and extradited to Germany, this time on a warrant related to drug trafficking. He was imprisoned for 21 months for dealing drugs and subsequently convicted for the rape of his American victim. Bombshell new evidence In 2020, the German prosecutor announced that Madeleine was presumed dead and named Brueckner as the official suspect – marking the first time his name had been publicly disclosed. Investigator Hans Christian Wolters said in 2022: "We are sure he is the murderer of Madeleine McCann". The evidence for the announcement has remained somewhat ambiguous, but last month, a Channel 4 documentary, produced in collaboration with The Sun, unveiled a series of disturbing finds allegedly uncovered by police in 2016 at an abandoned factory once owned by Brueckner in Neuwegersleben, eastern Germany. Among the trove were said to be toys, children's clothing – including 75 girls' swimsuits – as well as chemicals and firearms. Also found were an 80GB hard drive and laptop, USB sticks, and memory cards, some stashed in a Lidl bag beneath the remains of his deceased dog. Reportedly, some of these items contained appalling communications with paedophiles, expressing desires to "capture something small and use it for days" along with images of child abuse. There have even been assertions that there is proof of Madeleine's death. "They are certain that he's the man who did it and they do have evidence that they haven't revealed," Clarke said. However, he clarified that they require all pieces of the puzzle to engage in a "tactical game" with Brueckner, who is backed by formidable legal representation. Brueckner is due to be released from jail in September if no further charges are brought. In October last year, he was cleared by a German court of unrelated sexual offences, alleged to have taken place in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. It comes after German and Portuguese police came together this week to search every property and pieces of land linked to Brueckner, ahead of his September release. This search, the most significant since 2008, included an abandoned farmhouse surrounded by partially collapsed outbuildings. Police were spotted removing mounds of earth from the scene, which was then taken away in plastic bags for further examination. Firemen were also spotted draining an abandoned well. Now, police are investigating samples of 'clothes and bones' found in last week's search, it is claimed. Initial reports suggested the operation - which took place 30 miles from where three-year-old Madeleine went missing in May 2007 - had failed to turn up any new leads. But now, it has been claimed that fragments of clothing and bones are to undergo testing this week after being uncovered at the scene. A source told Berlin Morning Post: 'Several objects have apparently been discovered, which are now being examined in more detail by the police in the laboratory. 'As Portuguese media report, clothing debris and bones were found, among other things. 'The investigators have not officially commented on whether the finds could have anything to do with Madeleine's disappearance but that is clearly their hope.'
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Graz school shooting: Mother describes panicked phone call from son inside classroom
A mother has described the moment she received a phone call from her panicked son after a gunman opened fire at a school in the Austrian city of Graz. Austrian police confirmed that a major operation was underway in the city on Tuesday morning (10 June) at the secondary school campus on Dreierschuetzengasse. The operation began at 10am after gunshots were heard inside the school, police said. The death toll has now risen to ten after the shooting police have confirmed. Police confirmed nine victims had been killed, and the perpetrator was also dead. Police said there was only one shooter involved.
