A former professional baseball pitcher has been revealed as a key figure in an international drug trafficking organization who was recently put on trial.
The Busan District Prosecutors’ Office’s Violent Crime Investigation Division announced on the 2nd that they have arrested and indicted two main figures, A (33) and B (30), in a drug smuggling organization on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (related to narcotics).
According to the prosecution, A is a former professional baseball pitcher, while B is a program developer. They are accused of smuggling 1.9 kg of the drug ketamine, worth about 100 million won on the market, into the country from Thailand on three separate occasions over the course of one month starting last September.
A also reportedly used methamphetamine once at a club in Thailand recently.
The two individuals allegedly used Telegram to anonymously instruct couriers to purchase the ketamine in Thailand and smuggle it into Korea.
The prosecution formed a specialized investigation team after identifying similarities in the method of smuggling in Thai-origin drug cases that occurred in Daejeon, Incheon, and Busan over the past two years.
After one courier was arrested at Gimhae International Airport last October, the investigation led to the capture of A and the others through methods such as tracking Telegram IPs, analyzing cryptocurrency wallet addresses, and dispatching investigators to Thailand.
During this process, exchanges of ketamine that took place within seconds were also identified in the restrooms of Incheon International Airport and Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand.
Statements from couriers, such as “He seemed like someone from Chungnam” and “He seemed like a huge fan of the Daejeon-based professional baseball team,” helped the prosecution identify A as a former pitcher for a pro baseball team.
The investigation revealed that A and others hid all related evidence, such as mobile phones, to evade tracking, and targeted family travelers with young children, who faced relatively less scrutiny from customs, as couriers.
A prosecution official stated, “We will make every effort to thoroughly confiscate the profits from these crimes and maintain the charges, while also dismantling the domestic distribution network and lower-level organizational members.”