"Easy Money" Shopping Mall and Restaurant Operator Sells Drugs... Over 300 Users Caught

Police Arrest 312 Sellers and Users
Seize 1.2kg of 8 Types of Narcotics
Some Smuggled Directly from Abroad

A group involved in selling narcotics in the Seoul metropolitan area through the dark web and overseas messengers was arrested by the police. It was investigated that they purchased drugs overseas, packed them in travel bags, and smuggled them through airports. About 300 people who used the drugs were also caught.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Narcotics Crime Investigation Unit announced on the 14th that they had arrested 10 drug dealers, including A (29), an operator of an online shopping mall, on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act. In addition, 302 people who purchased narcotics from the dealers and used or smoked drugs in the metropolitan area were also arrested on the same charges. Among the users, D (40), who posted messages on social networking services (SNS) advocating for the legalization of marijuana during the investigation and was accused of receiving marijuana for free claiming it was necessary for his child's treatment and then smoking it, was detained.

On the 14th, the Narcotics Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced the arrest of nine drug dealers, including Mr. A (29), on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act. They traded drugs using a throwing method, hiding the narcotics at specific locations. Narcotics found in a flower bed. / Photo by Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency

According to the police, six people including dealers A and B (29) are suspected of purchasing narcotics directly from overseas from December 2020 to March this year and smuggling them in or purchasing narcotics from domestic cargo ships and selling them through the dark web and overseas messengers in the metropolitan area. It was investigated that they received payment via cryptocurrency and sold drugs using a "throw-and-go" method, where the seller hides the goods at an agreed location and the buyer picks them up. The places where the narcotics were hidden varied, including flower beds, window frames, and pump boxes. Additionally, four people including C (51) are suspected of acting as cargo ship operators in the Incheon and Busan areas and selling narcotics to dealer B and others from February last year to March this year.

Police investigations revealed that they started smoking or using drugs as online shopping mall or restaurant operators, liquor wholesalers, and food delivery drivers, and then began selling drugs thinking it was an easy way to make money. Notably, among the six people who sold drugs in the metropolitan area, five had no prior criminal records related to drug offenses. Two of them, including A, traveled to Europe from February to August 2021, purchased narcotics through the dark web locally, packed them in travel bags, and smuggled more than four types of narcotics into the country through the airport in two separate instances. During a search of their residences, narcotics with hallucinogenic components not commonly distributed domestically were also found.

Through the search and seizure, the police confiscated 1.2 kg of eight types of narcotics, cryptocurrency, cash, and about 150 million KRW in criminal proceeds. It is reported that they were arrested shortly after starting their crimes and did not gain the expected profits as the criminal proceeds were seized.

A large number of users who purchased and used drugs from them were also arrested. Among the drug users, E (23) smoked narcotics alone or with acquaintances through group purchases and sold narcotics to acquaintances 12 times from March 2020 to March 2021 via overseas messengers. A police official stated, "The boundary between sellers and buyers in drug crimes is becoming blurred, and acts that lower public vigilance against drugs, such as advocating for marijuana legalization and cafes themed around marijuana, continue." He added, "We urge citizens to carefully observe their surroundings and actively report any suspicious cases."

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