"Friday Night Police Raid at Gangnam Toto-ga and Clubs... Surprise Drug Crackdown"

Massive Joint Crackdown by Police, Firefighters, and Local Governments
Zero Cases Detected... Surprise Club Raids to Continue
1,123 Drug Offenders Arrested Last Month

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee]"Everyone, let's go in. Let's thoroughly check around the restroom toilets, trash bins, and storage areas." Police, fire departments, and local governments conducted a large-scale joint crackdown on clubs in the Gangnam area. This was to prevent drug crimes occurring recently in clubs and entertainment bars.

Police, Fire Department, Seoul City, and District Offices Conduct 'Large-Scale Joint Crackdown'... Eradicating Drug Crimes

The Seocho Police Station in Seoul conducted inspections on clubs in the Gangnam area from 10 PM the previous day until 12:40 AM on the 8th. A total of 51 personnel, including police officers and district office officials, visited clubs located in Seocho-dong, Seocho-gu, such as Totoga, Race, Face, and Local Club, to check for drug use and sales, illegal filming, and violations of the Food Sanitation Act.

Although the police conducted the crackdown based on 112 reports and intelligence received over the past three months, no cases were detected. Earlier, the police suspected some clubs of drug use based on waste collection inspections. They checked places suspected as drug disposal sites, such as storage areas and restroom trash bins, but no drugs were found. There were also no cases of hidden camera installations or violations of the Food Sanitation Act. However, warnings were issued regarding passage obstructions caused by items stored near emergency exits. Additionally, stickers promoting the prohibition of illegal filming were posted.

"Why is the police at the club?"... Growing public interest and surprised reactions

When the police made a surprise visit to the clubs that day, most citizens reacted with surprise. Kim Min-hye (24) said, "I was startled because I thought an incident had occurred when the police came in," adding, "I had heard that drugs have been spreading a lot recently, but I didn't know they would conduct surprise crackdowns to this extent." Passersby nearby also expressed confusion, saying things like, "Why did the police come to the club?" and "Drugs in the middle of a Gangnam club? That's unbelievable."

The police plan to strengthen crackdowns to block drug crimes in the future. Kim Han-gon, head of the Criminal Division at Seocho Police Station, stated, "The situation is serious enough that drugs have penetrated even into households," adding, "Especially since drugs are widely distributed in clubs, we will continue inspections jointly with related agencies."

Lee Seung-gap, head of the Violent Crimes Division at Seocho Police Station, also said, "Drugs are distributed secretly, making it practically difficult to catch offenders," but added, "We will continue proactive prevention measures such as surprise crackdowns."

Meanwhile, from the 1st to the 28th of last month, the police arrested a total of 1,123 drug offenders, detaining 148. Among drug offenders in entertainment districts, 43 were arrested and 5 detained.

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