New Synthetic Drug 'Kunsa' Arrives... 28 Illegal Thai Immigrants Caught Distributing and Using 'Yaba'

Busan Police Agency: "Largest Southeast Asian Organization Developed, Easy-to-Take Pills and Capsules Form"

New synthetic drug 'Yaba' caught among Thai people distributing and consuming it in Korea.
[Image source=Busan Police Agency]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] A large number of Thai nationals who openly distributed and consumed a new type of drug developed by the largest Southeast Asian drug organization, Khun Sa, have been arrested in South Korea.

The new drug is called ‘Yaba,’ which has been refined into easy-to-consume tablets or capsules. The name Yaba is a compound of the Thai words ‘Ya’ meaning ‘drug (藥)’ and ‘Ba’ meaning ‘fool’ or ‘crazy.’ It is known that the Southeast Asian drug organization Khun Sa developed Yaba by synthesizing 30% methamphetamine (Hiropon), 60% caffeine, and 10% codeine.

On the 11th, the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency announced that they had arrested 28 Thai nationals, including a group involved in distributing and selling drugs domestically and users.

According to the Busan police, the Violent Crime Investigation Unit’s International Crime Investigation Division arrested six Thai sellers who distributed drugs to illegally staying Thai workers in South Korea, along with 28 Thai nationals including a woman in her 30s, A, who purchased and consumed the drugs. Among them, 23 were detained.

The Thai sellers sold Yaba to Thai workers in Busan, Gyeongnam, and Gyeonggi regions from December last year to May this year, earning about 43 million KRW in profits.

They purchased drugs from Koreans or via the internet, then secretly sold the drugs to Thai workers they met nearby or through SNS while traveling nationwide using unregistered vehicles.

The police are also tracking down Korean suppliers who sold drugs to these individuals.

All the arrested Thai suspects were confirmed to be illegal residents who entered the country under a visa waiver for tourism purposes, which allows a stay of up to 90 days, but did not leave within the permitted period.

The five suspects who were not detained were handed over to the Immigration Office.

The police have conducted a swift investigation to prevent the spread of this relatively inexpensive and easy-to-consume form of drug domestically.

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