Drug smuggling apparatuses and cash are displayed by Chungbuk Provincial Police Agency.
Drug smuggling apparatuses and cash are displayed by Chungbuk Provincial Police Agency.

Police have apprehended 106 foreign nationals accused of smuggling or distributing drugs in South Korea, authorities said Wednesday.

The Chungbuk Provincial Police Agency in North Chungcheong Province said it arrested 61 foreign nationals, including a man in his 20s from Thailand, on suspicion of violating the Narcotics Control Act. Fifty-one were sent to prosecutors in custody, while 10 were referred without detention.

The Thai suspect is accused of smuggling 5,400 pills of ya ba, a stimulant combining methamphetamine and caffeine, from Thailand to South Korea through international mail over three months starting in September 2024.

Investigators said the drugs were concealed by disassembling permanent markers, inserting empty straws and hiding the pills inside.

Police said the group distributed the drugs across regions, including North and South Chungcheong provinces, Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province, primarily targeting Thai nationals, through October this year. Most of those arrested were undocumented residents.

Officers confiscated 2,399 ya ba pills that were intended for distribution.

Separately, police detained another 45 foreign nationals accused of distributing drugs between February and October and cultivating marijuana in Korea. Most of those apprehended were from Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

They are suspected of delivering drugs to customers who placed orders through Telegram. Police seized 282.6 grams of marijuana and equipment used for cultivation, including blackout tents, lights and ventilation devices.


shinjh@heraldcorp.com