Police have busted a Seoul-based multinational drug ring suspected of trafficking narcotics into Southeast Asia, officials said Thursday.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said they have uncovered four members of the international drug network, including a Singaporean kingpin, and arrested two of them on charges of distributing new types of cannabis and methamphetamine overseas from September 2022 to July 2023.

The drug syndicate reportedly began distributing the narcotics in Singapore and Vietnam, then moved their business to South Korea after local police began hunting them down.

The network sold jellies and electronic cigarettes containing drugs in Singapore and nearby countries via Telegram, and earned 250 million won ($193,056) in profit, according to officials.

It marks the first case in which a network made up of foreigners sold drugs overseas through Telegram from a local foothold.

The police caught them in collaboration with the National Intelligence Service and officials in charge of handling drugs in Singapore.

Meanwhile, police also booked 18 Chinese drug ring members and arrested 13 of them on charges of smuggling methamphetamine into South Korea by concealing them in dried squid in the mail and selling them through Telegram from June.

The police requested a red notice for the leader of the group from Interpol and confiscated 2.2 kilograms of methamphetamine worth some 2.3 billion won.

Police also booked four suspects accused of supplying new types of drugs, including hashish and mephedrone, to Central Asians living in South Korea via Telegram and arrested three of them.

During the crackdown on cyber drug crimes from April through November, police booked 100 suspects in total and arrested 24 of them, and confiscated drugs worth some 4.6 billion won, along with proceeds from the crime amounting to 40 million won. (Yonhap)