Drug kingpin Park Wang-yeol's supply line caught and repatriated from Thailand

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[The Financial News] Police have repatriated a man in his 50s, identified as the supplier who provided drugs to 'drug kingpin' Park Wang-yeol, after arresting him in Thailand.
The Narcotics and Organized Crime Investigation Division of the Korean National Police Agency said on the 1st that it had received custody of Choi, a man in his 50s suspected of supplying drugs to Park Wang-yeol, from Thai authorities and brought him back to Korea.
Choi is accused of operating on Telegram under the names 'Cheongdam' and 'Cheongdam Sajang' and of smuggling into Korea or helping distribute narcotics worth about 10 billion won, including some 22 kilograms of philopon, since around 2019.
While intensifying its investigation last month into Park Wang-yeol, the alleged drug ringleader in the Philippines, police obtained a lead that 'Choi was the supplier who provided drugs to Park Wang-yeol.' They then designated the Narcotics and International Crime Investigation Unit of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency as the lead investigative office, merged five cases involving Choi for which arrest warrants had been issued nationwide, and tracked his movements at home and abroad.
As a result, police found no official record of Choi leaving the country after 2018, but received intelligence that he was staying in Thailand. Through police liaison officers stationed in Korea and Thailand, they established a cooperative system with local Thai police and confirmed that Choi was living in Samut Prakan Province, about an hour by car from Bangkok.
Police then carried out a three-day joint stakeout at a luxury residential complex in the province with help from the Samut Prakan Provincial Police and arrested Choi on the 10th of last month on charges of illegal stay.
Police said they were able to arrest Choi just seven days after requesting cooperation because the Korean and Thai police agencies had maintained a close partnership. They added that the early repatriation was made possible through collaboration among the Korean National Police Agency and other relevant bodies, centered on the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Thailand.
During Choi's repatriation, police also received from Thai police the items seized at the time of his arrest, including a passport in another person's name and electronic devices. The police plan to conduct digital forensics on the seized materials and use them in the investigation.
They also plan to investigate not only drug-related charges, including any collusion between Park Wang-yeol and Choi, but also the full range of crimes in which Choi was involved, such as violations of the Passport Act. Police also intend to thoroughly trace and recover any criminal proceeds Choi obtained.
Acting Commissioner General of the Korean National Police Agency Jaesung Yoo said, "We are actively using the cooperation channels formed with relevant agencies during the investigation into Park Wang-yeol's repatriation case, centered on the Special Task Force on Transnational Crimes (TF)." He added, "I hope this repatriation sends the message that drug criminals will be tracked down and arrested to the ends of the earth."
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welcome@fnnews.com Jang Yu-ha Reporter