Philopon Smuggling Worth 60 Billion Won: 'Asia Drug Kingpin' Indicted...Forced Repatriation After 4 Years

Mr. A (center), the 'Asia Drug Kingpin,' being escorted at Incheon International Airport.
Photo by Incheon District Prosecutors' Office

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] The so-called "Asia Drug King," who smuggled methamphetamine worth 60 billion won into South Korea and lived as a fugitive in Thailand for several years, was forcibly repatriated to South Korea after four years and indicted in custody.

The Violent Crimes Division of Incheon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Moon Young-kwon) announced on the 18th that A (56) was indicted in custody on charges of violating the Special Act on the Prevention of Illegal Trafficking of Narcotics.

A is accused of smuggling 18.3 kg of methamphetamine (worth about 61 billion won) from Cambodia 21 times through 16 domestic couriers from September 2013 to December 2017. The 18.3 kg of methamphetamine is enough for about 610,000 people to use simultaneously.

He is also charged with selling part of the smuggled methamphetamine (worth about 90 million won) 185 times in Seoul and other areas from October 2015 to January 2018.

Investigations revealed that after leaving for Thailand in 2011, A recruited domestic couriers by posting job advertisements on the internet offering free travel as bait, traveling back and forth between Cambodia and Thailand, and communicating via Telegram.

They used a method called "throwing," where methamphetamine was hidden in predetermined locations, and photos were sent to buyers so they could pick it up themselves.

A’s 22 accomplices, including university students and housewives, were convicted in court and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 2 years and 6 months to 9 years.

Earlier, in early 2016, during the investigation of domestic couriers who were first arrested, the prosecution identified A’s crimes, obtained an arrest warrant, and issued a red notice through Interpol.

Afterwards, in January 2018, A was caught by Korean investigators in Cambodia and detained in an immigration detention center but escaped and fled to Thailand. He was arrested again at the end of last year and was being held in a Thai detention facility.

However, as the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spread worldwide, Thai authorities banned detainees from crossing borders, making A’s repatriation difficult.

A prosecution official said, "After three months of consultations with related agencies such as the Thai Immigration Bureau and the Korean Embassy in Thailand, A was forcibly repatriated to South Korea on the 30th of last month," adding, "We plan to thoroughly investigate accomplices who fled to Thailand or Cambodia and have not yet been caught."

Meanwhile, according to the prosecution, the amount of methamphetamine seized in the Asia-Pacific region has been steadily increasing since 2008, with more than 75% of it known to be manufactured in Mekong River basin countries such as Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Recently, the inflow of methamphetamine from Southeast Asian countries into South Korea has also been increasing.

Incheon District Prosecutors' Office established the "International Drug Crime Organization Tracking Investigation Team" in August last year to actively respond to the masterminds behind organized international drug crimes and is tracking smugglers residing abroad in Southeast Asia, the United States, and other countries through an international cooperation network.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.