Drug smuggling and manufacturing offenders up 34%; police focus investigative efforts on cutting off supply chains

[Financial News] The number of narcotics smuggling and manufacturing offenders apprehended by police since the beginning of this year has risen by more than 30% from a year earlier. Beyond cracking down on drug users, police plan to focus investigative efforts on blocking supply channels, including overseas smuggling and domestic distribution networks, while expanding cooperation with relevant agencies and overseas law enforcement authorities.
According to the National Office of Investigation on the 5th, 174 offenders involved in narcotics smuggling and manufacturing were apprehended from January through August, a 33.8% surge from 130 during the same period last year. The number of drug-selling offenders also increased by 6.6%, from 3,186 to 3,396. During the same period, the total number of drug offenders rose 5.3%, from 9,047 to 9,530, while the number of offenders involved in medical narcotics increased 11.9%, from 631 to 706. 
Police have focused their investigative efforts on apprehending drug supply offenders rather than simple users, beginning with the repatriation of the so-called 'drug kingpin' Park Wang-yeol to South Korea early this year and his referral to prosecutors in custody. 
The Northern Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency Regional Crime Investigation Unit, which investigated the Park Wang-yeol case, and the Southern Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency Narcotics Crime Investigation Unit, which handled the case involving Choi Byeong-min, who is suspected of supplying drugs to Park, were selected as the top special-achievement cases in the National Police Agency's campaign to eradicate drug crimes. Each team will receive a 10 million won bonus.  
Park had been imprisoned in the Philippines on suspicion of murdering three South Koreans there. After receiving payment from buyers, he popularized the so-called "drug-drop" method of telling them where the drugs had been hidden. He was repatriated to South Korea after President Lee Jae Myung requested his provisional surrender from Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the Korea-Philippines summit on March 3.
Police apprehended domestic middlemen and other accomplices, secured evidence, and traced the flow of funds, including cryptocurrency transactions. Through the investigation into Park's case, they identified narcotics worth 6.3 billion won, including 12.7 kilograms of methamphetamine, as well as 8.63 billion won in criminal proceeds. 
Choi, identified as Park's drug supplier, was detected during the investigation and arrested in Thailand through cooperation with Thai law enforcement before being repatriated to South Korea. Police later deployed the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Virtual Asset Analysis Team and analyzed information obtained from the National Tax Service (NTS) and Financial Services Commission (FSC), identifying evidence of 41 additional offenses. Police said they uncovered 6 billion won in criminal proceeds and took pre-indictment measures to preserve the funds for forfeiture. 
Separately, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Narcotics Crime Investigation Unit investigated hospitals and clinics in Seoul's Gangnam District, apprehending 23 people, including doctors, and detaining five of them. It secured pre-indictment forfeiture preservation for assets worth 450 million won and contributed to institutional improvements, including the designation of etomidate as a narcotic. The Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency Narcotics Crime Investigation Unit apprehended 21 members, including the leader of an organization that smuggled and distributed 57.8 kilograms of narcotics and 401 ecstasy tablets from Vietnam to South Korea on 52 occasions, and detained 15 of them. 
The laundering of drug transaction proceeds through virtual assets also became a focus of investigations. The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency Narcotics Crime Investigation Unit apprehended 67 people, including the operators of six unregistered illegal virtual asset transaction agencies. Police believe the suspects laundered drug transaction proceeds and charged them with aiding and abetting drug distribution. In the case, police sought forfeiture of 190 million won and seized 330 grams of ketamine, 3.4 grams of methamphetamine, and 8.7 grams of synthetic cannabis. 
The National Police Agency selected 10 teams that had achieved results in eradicating drug crimes, including those involved in the cases above, and awarded them a total of 50 million won in special performance bonuses. The agency explained that many of the cases recognized involved uncovering additional crimes and hidden assets through the sharing of investigative information among relevant agencies. 
Police plan to strengthen cooperation not only with relevant agencies, including the National Intelligence Service (NIS), the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the Korea Customs Service, the NTS, and the FSC, but also with the newly launched Serious Crime Investigation Agency. On November 11 and 12, they will hold the International Conference on Narcotics (ICON) to strengthen the foundation for cooperation with overseas law enforcement agencies, while also expanding international cooperation through the Asia Narcotics Crime Response Working Group (ANCRA).
Hong Seok-gi, chief of the National Office of Investigation, said, "Changes to the criminal justice system can serve as a turning point for each investigative agency to strengthen its respective expertise and improve cooperation mechanisms." He added, "With the number of narcotics offenders continuing to rise, we will mount an all-out response with relevant agencies, determined that now is the golden time to eradicate narcotics crimes."

[email protected] Kim Ye-ji Reporter