“Sonata vehicle ahead, please pull over to the shoulder.”
On April 26, at 11:50 p.m., Police Officers Han and Choi from Bal-An District at the Hwaseong West Police Station, who were on patrol, witnessed a sedan make a sudden right turn upon noticing the patrol car on a road in Hyangnam-eup, Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province.
Upon checking the vehicle registration, it was found to be an unregistered ‘ghost’ vehicle. After ordering the car to stop, the officers approached to request the driver’s license from the individual once the car pulled over to the side of the road.
However, the foreign male driver began to act incoherently without presenting any identification. Even after obeying orders to exit the car, he wandered aimlessly, with unfocused eyes, and then suddenly attempted to flee.
Officer Han, observing the driver’s suspicious behavior, immediately pursued him on foot, while Officer Choi followed in the patrol car.
The fleeing male, who ran for about 1 km, was ultimately apprehended by Officer Han. The driver was identified as A, an undocumented 30-something Thai national, and found in the car were 1.98g of methamphetamine and 200 pills of yaba.
A rapid drug test performed on A also showed positive results. It was determined that he, under the influence of drugs, had attempted to flee upon noticing the patrol car while he was driving from a lodging facility located about 200 meters away from the patrol point.
Investigations revealed that A entered the country in August 2014 on a short-term visa and had, over the course of 11 years, continuously stayed in the country illegally, living in various lodging establishments. It was uncovered that he purchased the drugs using a ‘throwaway’ method from an unidentified seller via social media.
Officer Han commented, “Thanks to routinely checking vehicle registrations, we were able to detect a driver under the influence early,” adding, “We are fortunate there were no additional incidents.”
The Hwaseong West Police Station arrested and handed over A on May 1st on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act and the Road Traffic Act (driving without a license and under the influence of drugs).
The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency is working on the ‘I Am a Police Officer’ project to enhance communication with citizens and promote police activities by producing and sharing content on various field cases. This incident was selected as the tenth case and has been posted on YouTube.
(Photos provided by Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, Yonhap News)