Teenagers Who Employed Adults in Study Rooms to Distribute Drugs... Up to 7 Years Imprisonment

Teenagers who rented officetels for study rooms and hired adults to distribute drugs were sentenced to prison.

The Criminal Division 14 of Incheon District Court (Chief Judge Ryu Kyung-jin) sentenced A (19) and another defendant, both charged with stimulant drug offenses under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, to 7 years in long-term imprisonment and 5 years in short-term imprisonment, respectively, and sentenced C (19) to 5 years in prison at the sentencing hearing held on the 7th. The court also ordered them to complete a 40-hour drug addiction treatment program and imposed fines ranging from 8 million to 20.5 million won each.

A and others were indicted on charges of selling, possessing, or using drugs worth about 270 million won, including methamphetamine, through Telegram from October 2021 to July last year while they were in the 2nd and 3rd years of high school.

A was investigated to have learned the crime methods from a drug dealer he met through Telegram and recruited peers as accomplices to commit the crimes. He asked his father for a "study room" and rented an officetel, which he then used as a drug distribution office.

They were found to have not only used drugs themselves but also hired six adults as drug couriers, hiding drugs at specific locations and informing buyers of the locations in a so-called "throwing" method. They also used Telegram, which guarantees anonymity, and cryptocurrency, which is difficult to trace financially, during the crime.

The court stated, "The defendants advertised drug sales to unspecified many people and professionally hired drug couriers to distribute drugs. The frequency and quantity handled are not insignificant, and two of them even extorted drug profits from accomplice A, making their guilt heavy."

It added, "However, the defendants showed remorse, and the fact that they were under 19 years old at the time of the crime is considered a favorable circumstance. Family and acquaintances promised to rehabilitate them, and the drugs they possessed had not yet been distributed, which was also taken into account," explaining the sentencing reasons.

Incheon District Court

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