‘How Widespread Is It?’ 19th Discovery of Drugs on Jeju Coast... ‘Report Immediately’

"Tea Bag Drugs"

"Thorough Search Underway in the Area Where Package Was Found"

The police have issued a warning after drugs disguised as "tea" bags were once again discovered on the coast of Jeju Island.

According to Yonhap News Agency on March 16, the Jeju Coast Guard announced that at around 10:40 a.m. on the same day, an environmental marine guardian found drugs wrapped in silver tea packaging on the rocks along the coast of Sinchon-ri, Jocheon-eup, Jeju City, while carrying out a coastal cleanup. At the time of discovery, the packaging was discolored, partially torn, and a small amount of water had seeped inside.

Drugs found on the coast of Jocheon-eup, Jeju City. Photo by Jeju Coast Guard and Yonhap News Agency

The Coast Guard explained that the item was similar to the ketamine previously found on the Jeju coast in tea packaging. A preliminary reagent test returned a positive result. Ketamine is a drug used as a medical or veterinary anesthetic and is known to be less expensive than methamphetamine or cocaine.

This latest discovery comes just six days after drugs of the same packaging were found on the coast of Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo City, on March 10. Since September 29 of last year, there have now been a total of 19 cases in which drugs disguised as tea bags have been found along the coasts of Jeju Port, Aewol-eup, Jocheon-eup, Gujwa-eup, Yongdam Port, Udo, and Seongsan-eup Gwangchigi Beach in Seogwipo City.

A Coast Guard official stated, "We are conducting a thorough search of the area where the discovery was made," and urged, "If you find an object with similar packaging on the coast, do not touch it directly and immediately report it to the Coast Guard."

The Taiwanese investigative authorities and the Jeju Coast Guard had previously indicated in an interim investigation announcement that, based on the packaging and types of ketamine found on the Jeju coast, it is highly likely that some of the drugs lost at sea off Taiwan drifted to the Jeju coast on ocean currents.

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