"Tested positive 9 times and used again"…60s sentenced to 8 years for drug use in hotel

A 60-year-old man was sentenced to 8 years in prison by the court for purchasing and using methamphetamine for distribution purposes, despite having been previously convicted of drug use.

According to the legal community on the 26th, the Criminal Division 11 of Suwon District Court sentenced Mr. A (60), who was tried for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (psychotropic drugs) and other charges, to 8 years in prison. Two accomplices, including Mr. B (47), were each sentenced to 7 years in prison.

On April 1st, Mr. A and others purchased more than 50 million won worth of methamphetamine on a street in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, from couriers who had received instructions from a drug dealer residing in China, intending to distribute it domestically. They used methamphetamine at a hotel in Uijeongbu-si, Gyeonggi Province, later that month.

It was investigated that Mr. A had already been convicted nine times for drug-related offenses, including a 1-year prison sentence in 2019 for drug use.

Mr. B and others claimed they did not conspire with Mr. A to purchase methamphetamine. However, the court judged that Mr. B and others assisted Mr. A in safely purchasing methamphetamine.

The court stated, "All defendants have prior convictions for drug-related crimes and have reoffended. In particular, defendants Mr. A and Mr. B committed the crimes during their probation period without refraining from drug-related offenses. The other defendants tested positive for methamphetamine in urine tests but denied it without valid reasons, making strict punishment inevitable."

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