49 out of 58 people, including domestic ringleaders, arrested; drugs worth 1.58 billion won seized
The South Jeolla Province Police’s Criminal Investigation Team for Drug Crimes announced on the 17th that they had apprehended 58 foreigners, including A (in his 40s), a Thai national who was the ringleader, on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act. These individuals were involved in smuggling drugs (methamphetamine, marijuana, etc.) into the country via international mail and distributing them nationwide using unregistered vehicles. Out of the 58 arrested, 49 have been detained.
According to the police, 24 individuals, including A, were involved in smuggling and selling drugs, while 10 were charged with possession and mediation of drugs. The remaining 24 were charged with simple drug use.
During the apprehension process, the police seized drugs worth approximately 1.58 billion won, including 282.7 grams of methamphetamine (worth about 940 million won), 11,782 tablets of yaba (worth about 590 million won), and 512.8 grams of marijuana (worth about 51.2 million won).
These individuals, most of whom were Thai nationals residing illegally in Korea, had been operating in a decentralized organizational structure since around July, trading drugs with foreign workers residing in the country through face-to-face and non-face-to-face (throwing) methods.
The police received intelligence that foreigners illegally residing in Korea were selling drugs and conducted a joint crackdown with the National Intelligence Service, sequentially apprehending individuals throughout the country, including in regions such as Gyeonggi, Gangwon, and Daegu. Ringleader A attempted to flee in an unregistered vehicle and caused a traffic accident by driving without a license.
A police official stated, “We plan to track and investigate overseas drug suppliers through international cooperation to fundamentally block the distribution network and focus on cracking down on unregistered vehicles operated by foreigners.”