18,000 Drug Offenders Arrested Last Year 'Record High'... Police Draw Swords

Three-Month Intensive Crackdown on Drug Offenders

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The number of drug offenders arrested last year exceeded 18,000, marking an all-time high. In response to the continuously increasing drug crimes, the police have decided to launch a large-scale crackdown.

The National Police Agency announced on the 21st that it will conduct an "Intensive Crackdown on Drug Offenders" from next month through May to block drug-related crimes. Prior to this, the police plan to operate an intelligence-gathering period from the 22nd to the 28th of this month.

According to the police, the total number of domestic drug offenders arrested last year was 18,050, a 12.5% increase compared to 2019. This is the highest number of arrests since drug offender crackdowns began.

The number of drug offenders arrested by the police has steadily increased over the past three years, from 8,107 in 2018 to 10,209 in 2019, and 12,209 last year. Among the drugs detected last year, psychotropic drugs accounted for the largest portion with 8,238 cases (67.5%), followed by narcotics with 2,027 cases (16.6%), and marijuana with 1,944 cases (15.9%).

By crime type, simple use was the most common with 6,353 cases, but sales (4,182 cases) and cultivation (1,547 cases) were also significant. Notably, drug crimes using the internet have surged sharply. The number of drug offenders using the dark web and virtual currencies was only 82 in 2019 but increased about ninefold to 748 last year, with internet-related crimes accounting for 21.4% of all drug offenders.

Drug crimes have continued recently as well. During the Lunar New Year holidays on the 11th and 12th of this month, three suspects inhaling marijuana and nitrous oxide, commonly called "Happy Balloon," at a hotel in Gangnam were arrested by the police. The police seized 3 grams of marijuana and 508 nitrous oxide canisters at the scene. Additionally, on the early morning of the 31st of last month, two suspects who left a bag containing drugs in a taxi in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and fled to evade police pursuit were arrested. The police confiscated 3 grams of methamphetamine, 1 gram of heroin, and 1 gram of marijuana. These incidents clearly showed that South Korea is no longer a "drug-free country."

The police have decided to push forward with the intensive crackdown based on the judgment that strong and continuous enforcement against such drug offenders is necessary. They plan to focus on cracking down on non-face-to-face drug distribution activities using the internet, characterized by anonymity, and drug crimes among foreigners concentrated in foreigner-dense areas. Furthermore, even simple users will be tracked to the end if they are involved in sales, and criminal proceeds will be recovered to cut off crime links.

The National Police Agency emphasized, "Through this intensive crackdown, we will consolidate police capabilities to eradicate drug crimes that threaten the safety and health of the public."

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