17 People Mass Indicted for Smuggling 200,000 Doses of 'Club Drug' Ketamine

A group that secretly smuggled 200,000 doses of ketamine, known as the so-called 'club drug,' into the country has been brought to trial.

Prosecutors [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Violent Crime Investigation Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Shin Junho) announced on the 10th that they arrested 17 members of a smuggling organization importing ketamine purchased in Thailand into the country, indicting 14, including the ringleader Choi Mo (29), on charges of detention, and prosecuting 3 without detention.

They are accused of smuggling about 10 kg of ketamine purchased in Thailand into the country six times from January last year to January this year, taking on roles such as financing, brokering transactions, and distribution, under charges including violation of the Special Act on Narcotics (psychotropic substances) and organizing a criminal group.

Ten kilograms of ketamine is enough for approximately 200,000 people to take simultaneously, based on a single dose of about 0.05g. The value is reported to be about 2.5 billion won. They avoided detection by authorities by wrapping about 1.4 to 1.8 kg of ketamine in plastic and placing it inside their underwear, then wearing oversized clothing when entering through Incheon International Airport.

The prosecution received information last year about a ketamine smuggling organization using men in their 20s as couriers and, during the investigation, arrested two individuals entering Incheon Airport in January in cooperation with customs, subsequently apprehending the entire group led by Choi and indicting all of them. Most of them are young adults in their 20s just starting their careers, and they joined the crime after hearing they could earn 5 to 10 million won per trip by transporting ketamine.

The prosecution judged that the offenders repeatedly committed crimes without remorse, shared methods, and increased their members, showing a bad nature, and indicted all regardless of whether they were first-time offenders or had surrendered. In particular, 14 of them, excluding 3 with circumstances such as military service, were indicted in custody. The arrest of 17 people in a single drug smuggling case is the largest scale ever recorded.

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