521 Drug Offenders Including Marijuana Using Cryptocurrency and Dark Web Arrested

Seizure of Narcotics Worth Over 10 Billion KRW and Recovery of Criminal Proceeds in Virtual Assets

Police have arrested a large number of individuals distributing and selling drugs domestically using cryptocurrency and the dark web. Photo by Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The police have arrested a large number of individuals who distributed and sold drugs domestically using cryptocurrency and the dark web.

On the 1st, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Narcotics Crime Investigation Unit announced, "Up until May of this year, we have arrested 49 suspects who cultivated marijuana domestically or smuggled narcotics from abroad and then distributed and sold them on the dark web using virtual assets. Additionally, we arrested 472 individuals who transferred virtual assets to these suspects and purchased or used narcotics, totaling 521 arrests, with 13 of them detained."

A Seoul police official stated, "The suspects arrested this time account for 19.6% of all narcotics offenders apprehended by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency over the past year, and most of them (96.3%) are young people in their 20s and 30s."

During the arrest process, the police seized narcotics worth approximately 10.86 billion KRW, including 63.5 kg of marijuana sufficient for about 210,000 smoking sessions, as well as methamphetamine, cocaine, and ketamine, thereby preventing the spread of narcotics into everyday life.

Furthermore, the police confiscated or preemptively seized and preserved virtual assets worth about 580 million KRW that the suspects held or possessed through drug distribution and sales, recovering criminal proceeds obtained through their crimes.

In the process of arresting middlemen, the police identified the main distributor (residing overseas) who established and operated a domestic drug sales site on the dark web and distributed narcotics nationwide. They are conducting close international cooperative investigations with local law enforcement agencies to promptly apprehend this individual.

A Seoul police official said, "Since August last year, the police have organized and operated a 'Dark Web and Virtual Asset Special Investigation Team.' Regardless of the means or methods, anyone who trades or uses narcotics will inevitably be detected and arrested by the police investigation network. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency will continue year-round, ongoing crackdowns on 'narcotics distribution offenders using the internet, SNS, and virtual assets' in connection with intensive narcotics crackdowns, and will actively provide rewards to informants to encourage reporting."

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