66 foreign nationals referred to prosecutors in seven separate drug cases
Police referred 66 foreign nationals to prosecutors over alleged drug offenses in seven separate cases, ranging from preparations to manufacture ecstasy to drug smuggling, distribution, purchase and use.
The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police said Monday that the suspects were referred from March through October on suspicion of violating the Narcotics Control Act.
Of the 66 foreign nationals, 30 were detained.
One case involved preparations to manufacture drugs, another involved smuggling and the other five involved distribution, purchase or use, police said. Many of the suspects were Southeast Asian nationals who had entered South Korea on D-2 student visas or D-4 language-training visas, according to police.
In one case, a suspect allegedly set up a pill press in a studio apartment near a university with the intention to make ecstasy tablets. Police said the suspect planned to use ecstasy powder smuggled into South Korea, but was apprehended before obtaining it.
In a separate case, police said six suspects allegedly smuggled ecstasy and ketamine through international mail. Investigators said the suspects operated in separate cells under the direction of a ringleader.
In the distribution cases, suspects allegedly used Telegram and Facebook to arrange drug sales through “dead drops,” leaving drugs at designated locations for buyers to collect. Other suspects allegedly bought drugs for their own use.
Police seized drugs said to have an estimated street value of 800 million won ($590,000), including 4,100 ecstasy tablets and about 1.6 kilograms of ketamine.
The agency said it identified the suspects while gathering intelligence as part of the National Police Agency’s crackdown on crimes involving foreign nationals this year. Police are expanding their investigation to identify who directed the alleged smugglers and dealers.
“We will continue tracing the domestic distribution routes of drugs smuggled in from overseas and investigating overseas suppliers, additional accomplices and criminal proceeds,” a police official said.
shwang9@heraldcorp.com
