7,565 Drug Offenders Arrested in First Half of This Year... Marijuana Seizures Increase More Than Threefold
[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seonhee] The government announced on the 10th that it conducted crackdowns on illegal narcotics in the first half of this year and arrested 7,565 suspects involved in supply and use. This figure represents an 8.6% increase compared to the same period last year. In particular, the amount of illegal marijuana seized during this crackdown has surged more than threefold.
The Office for Government Policy Coordination disclosed the results of the '2021 First Half Illegal Narcotics Crackdown' and reported that 1,138 of the arrested drug offenders were detained. This crackdown was carried out by five agencies: the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the Korea Customs Service, the National Police Agency, and the Korea Coast Guard.
Along with the arrests, 143.2 kg of psychotropic substances such as poppy, heroin, methamphetamine, and ecstasy, as well as 49 kg of marijuana, were seized to prevent supply and distribution. Compared to the first half of last year, the amount of seized psychotropic substances increased approximately 2.7 times, and marijuana increased more than threefold.
Amid growing social concerns over drug abuse among youth, 277 drug offenders aged 19 or younger were also arrested. This is more than 2.5 times the 108 arrests made in the first half of last year.
Especially with the COVID-19 pandemic, drug distribution through non-face-to-face methods such as the dark web has significantly increased, resulting in 605 cases of narcotics detected via international mail and express shipments.
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Jang Sang-yoon, Director of Social Coordination at the Office for Government Policy Coordination, stated, "To eradicate the domestic smuggling of illegal narcotics, we plan to strengthen international cooperation with foreign investigative agencies." He added, "In the second half of the year, based on the achievements of the first half, we will pursue more intensive crackdowns and simultaneously make effective efforts to block inflows."
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