Eight Suspects Caught Smuggling Drugs from the Philippines as Carry-On Luggage... Seizure Worth 4 Billion Won

High-Paid Part-Time Worker Involved
Investigation Underway on Philippine Merchant Ship and Accomplices

The police arrested a group that smuggled a large amount of methamphetamine as carry-on luggage on flights and distributed it domestically, seizing drugs worth approximately 4.05 billion KRW.

On the 19th, the Dongdaemun Police Station in Seoul announced that they arrested a total of eight people, including A (39), the domestic distribution manager, for violating the Narcotics Control Act. They used high-paid part-time workers to smuggle methamphetamine into the country and distribute it on the market. Among them, four were detained. During the process, they seized 1,213g of methamphetamine and 20 ecstasy pills, enough for about 40,500 simultaneous doses.

According to the police, the suspects are accused of smuggling narcotics from the Philippines into South Korea for distribution. They received a commission of 500,000 to 1,000,000 KRW per case from their superiors in the Philippines, known as "Blue," and smuggled the drugs concealed in sunflower seed packets inside their backpacks when entering the country. The smuggled drugs were then delivered to designated locations within South Korea. The police identified a total of 5,830g smuggled in eight shipments, ranging from 500g to 800g per shipment.

Methamphetamine seized by the police.
[Photo by Dongdaemun Police Station]

After arresting A, the domestic distribution manager, the police sequentially apprehended the smugglers, domestic distribution managers and distributors, as well as buyers and users, totaling eight people. The police believe there are more individuals smuggling and distributing narcotics from the Philippines to South Korea using similar methods and are investigating ships and accomplices.

Additionally, the police requested airport customs to actively inspect carry-on luggage of short-term travelers to prevent recurrence of methamphetamine smuggling through airport customs. A police official stated, “In connection with intensive crackdowns to eradicate narcotics crimes, we will continue special operations focusing on smuggling and large-scale distribution offenders, as well as those distributing narcotics via social networking services (SNS) and virtual assets.”

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