Coast Guard Cheong Establishes Maritime Drug Crime Cooperation System with Peruvian Navy

The Korea Coast Guard and the Peruvian Navy are establishing a joint response system to combat maritime drug crimes.

The Korea Coast Guard held a video conference with the Peruvian Navy on the 13th to establish a criminal justice cooperation system for drug crimes, which have a strong international criminal nature, and to devise measures to proactively block drugs at sea.

During the meeting, the two agencies discussed 24-hour investigative cooperation measures, including sharing lists of high-risk vessels and crew members, recommending expert advisors on maritime drug distribution, and establishing a hotline.

The Peruvian Navy noted that drugs originating from South America are distributed to Europe, East Asia, Mexico, and then to the United States, emphasizing the need to intercept them at sea in advance, and decided to actively cooperate with the Korea Coast Guard.

Earlier, in February, the Korea Coast Guard, in cooperation with the Peruvian and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), seized 35 kg of cocaine from a container scheduled to arrive in South Korea, enough for one million simultaneous doses.

Kim Seong-jong, Director of the Investigation Bureau at the Korea Coast Guard, said, "Large-scale drug trafficking using vessels is on the rise, but there are limitations in detection and enforcement, making international judicial cooperation essential. We will expand cooperation systems with maritime security agencies in North America, Southeast Asia, and Africa in the future."

Coast Guard Agency-Peruvian Navy Video Conference
[Photo by Coast Guard Agency]

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