The amount of smuggled narcotics in South Korea surged 42 percent year-on-year last year, statistics released by the Korea Customs Service showed Thursday.

Drugs totaling 91.6 kilograms were confiscated in 2015, each marking 28 percent and 42 percent rise from the year before. The number of apprehended smuggled cases reached 325, up 6 percent from 2014. The authorities said drug smuggling cases continued to increase for the past four years.
 

The most common drug seized was methamphetamine, accounting for 41.7 percent of the cases involved, with a total of 72 kilograms seized. This is the largest amount in 14 years, the authorities said.

Others included 12.1 kilograms worth of hemp and 6 kg worth of new types of narcotics such as synthetic marijuana.

By size, the drugs were being brought in in larger amounts, with an average of 8.3 kilograms discovered in each case, compared to 6 kg in 2014.

Low-level smuggling also increased in numbers, with 49 of the cases involving less than 20 grams of drugs compared to 27 cases a year before.

The smuggling routes also became more diverse from before when the dealers mostly originated from China or Hong Kong to pass through Korea to eventually reach Japan. Some of the new routes included the drugs originating from Africa, passing through the United Arab Emirates or Germany, and then Korea to reach the U.S., the officials said.

While most smuggling was carried out through travelers, international mail or express cargo, more cases are involving new channels such as import cargo and sailors, they added.

The customs officials said they will use the data to better systematically manage and control drug smuggling, as well as fortifying monitoring of illegal drug dealing websites.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)