This Time, Drugs Smuggled Cunningly... Falling Like Rain from 'Dalpaengi Kkeopdegi'

1.1 Tons of Drugs Seized Inside Snail Shells

As drug smuggling methods become increasingly sophisticated, drug traffickers were caught by Hong Kong authorities after secretly smuggling over 1 ton of drugs inside snail shells.

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 6th, Hong Kong authorities discovered 1.1 tons of methamphetamine worth HKD 640 million (approximately KRW 106.2 billion) in a shipment of snail shells from Mexico and arrested four suspects. Methamphetamine in solid form is the main ingredient of Philopon.

[Image source=Pixabay]

Earlier, at the end of last month, the container that arrived from Mexico to Hong Kong was reported to customs as containing about 600 bags filled with snail shells. However, suspicious substances were detected during an X-ray inspection of the cargo, and upon investigation, 104 bags containing methamphetamine were found.

Hong Kong authorities explained, "The drugs were disguised with snail shells painted with wax and paint," adding, "Each bag contained such fake snail shells mixed with real ones." It is known that some of the drugs were intended to be shipped not only to Hong Kong but also to Australia, Japan, and New Zealand.

Meanwhile, recent cases of smuggling drugs disguised as international mail or express cargo for overseas direct purchases have surged domestically as well. According to the Korea Customs Service, the number of non-face-to-face drug smuggling cases detected using international mail and express cargo increased from 371 cases (88 kg) in 2020 to 657 cases (587 kg) in 2022.

The number of drug dealers is also rising. According to the drug offender arrest status received by the office of Hong Gi-won, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, from the National Police Agency, among the 13,933 drug offenders arrested from the beginning of this year until September, 4,094 (29%) were dealers, including couriers. The number of people arrested on drug sales charges increased by about 30%, from 3,158 last year to 4,094 this year.

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