"Average 2 Cases of Drug Smuggling per Day, 1kg Seized per Case... Steady Increase in Traveler Smuggling"

The number of drug smuggling cases and the weight of drugs seized at border checkpoints are increasing. South Korea is also burdened with the stigma of transitioning from a former "drug-free country" to a current "drug-consuming country." Above all, there is a noticeable trend of steady growth in smuggling through travelers recently.

According to the Korea Customs Service's announcement on drug smuggling crackdown trends on the 25th, from January to September this year, customs authorities seized a total of 501 cases involving 493 kg of drugs at the border entry stage. Mathematically, this means an average of 2 cases and nearly 1 kg of drugs were attempted to be smuggled across the border daily.

Asia Economy DB

Recent annual drug smuggling crackdown trends show 696 cases with 148 kg in 2020, 1,054 cases with 1,272 kg in 2021, and 771 cases with 624 kg in 2022. Comparing 2020 and 2022 simply, the number of cases increased by 75, and the weight increased by 476 kg.

In particular, when examining the crackdown status from January to September last year (563 cases with 383 kg) and the same period this year (501 cases with 493 kg), the number of cases decreased by 62, but the weight increased by 110 kg.

This suggests that drug smuggling has recently become larger in scale. In fact, the average weight per drug smuggling case (cumulative from the first to third quarter each year) was 229 g in 2020, 856 g in 2021, 680 g in 2022, and 985 g this year.

Customs authorities also pay attention to the increase in drug smuggling through travelers. Currently, the main drug smuggling routes remain international mail (45% of total cases seized and 49% of total weight seized) and express delivery (28% of total cases seized and 28% of total weight seized).

However, the rapid increase in drug smuggling cases detected among travelers?86 cases with 150 g in 2021, 112 cases with 323 g in 2022, and 129 cases with 792 g as of September 2023?is difficult to overlook, customs authorities emphasize. Traveler drug smuggling accounts for 30% through hand-carried luggage.

The drug smuggling crackdown trends also reveal differences in the types of drugs smuggled and the entry routes by age group.

For example, teenagers mainly attempted to smuggle cannabidiol (CBD oil, a medicinal product containing cannabis components) and cannabis cartridges through international mail.

People in their 20s to 40s tended to smuggle party drugs such as ketamine (a dissociative anesthetic causing hallucinations) and MDMA (commonly known as ecstasy) through overseas direct purchase, while those aged 50 and above often attempted to smuggle marijuana and other drugs like geotongpyeon through travelers.

The proportion of drug smuggling detections by age group at the border stage was distributed as follows: 1% for teenagers, 29% for people in their 20s, 32% for those in their 30s, 19% for those in their 40s, and 19% for those aged 50 and above.

Customs authorities acknowledge that while a large proportion of drugs smuggled originate from Southeast Asia, centered around the Golden Triangle (Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, etc.), the scale of seizures from newly detected countries attempting to smuggle drugs into South Korea has increased compared to previous years.

The number of newly detected countries (drug smuggling weight) was 2 countries (0.02 kg) in 2021, 3 countries (3.9 kg) in 2022, and 6 countries (26.5 kg) as of September this year.

Provided by Korea Customs Service

Meanwhile, based on recent drug smuggling crackdown trends, the Korea Customs Service is implementing special measures to eradicate drug smuggling.

First, led by the Deputy Commissioner of the Korea Customs Service, a "Special Task Force for Drug Smuggling Countermeasures" will be formed to serve as a control tower for drug smuggling crackdowns, enhancing the effectiveness of enforcement.

Additionally, to eradicate the increasing drug smuggling through travelers, inspections of in-flight (hand-carried) luggage will be expanded, and traveler inspections will be strengthened. The agency also plans to expand overseas drug enforcement bases through international cooperation.

Ko Gwang-hyo, Commissioner of the Korea Customs Service, stated, "The task force will review existing practices from the ground up to identify all obstacles to drug smuggling crackdowns and focus institutional capabilities on completely blocking drug smuggling at the border stage. Although enhanced customs measures during mail, express delivery, and traveler entry processes may cause some inconvenience to the public, we ask for the public’s understanding and cooperation, considering this is a necessary step for South Korea to become a safe country free from drugs."

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