Man and Woman Attempting to Smuggle 30,000 Doses of Drugs into Thailand Sentenced to Heavy Prison Term in First Trial

by Lim Juhyeong

Published 03 Dec.2024 11:20(KST)

Court: "Internationalization of Drug Crimes... Need for Severe Punishment"

A man and a woman who were indicted for smuggling drugs worth about 300 million won hidden on their bodies from Thailand into the country were sentenced to heavy prison terms. The drugs seized by the police were enough for more than 30,000 people to use simultaneously.

Busan Court Complex. Yonhap News

According to Yonhap News, the Criminal Division 6 of Busan District Court (Chief Judge Kim Yong-gyun) announced on the 3rd that it sentenced a woman in her 40s, Ms. A, who was tried for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (psychotropic substances), to 9 years in prison and a fine of 95.12 million won, and her accomplice, a man in his 40s, Mr. B, to 8 years in prison.

The man and woman traveled to Thailand last June and received 1.1 kg of packaged methamphetamine (Philopon) from the drug supplier Mr. C. They then attempted to smuggle it into the country by hiding it separately in their abdomen and groin area while boarding a plane to Gimhae Airport but were caught.

Mr. B joined the crime at Ms. A’s suggestion. In court, Mr. B claimed that he did not know the packaged items were Philopon and had no intention of smuggling them. However, the court judged that Mr. B was not merely passively following Ms. A, as he personally booked the flight to Thailand with the money he received as a fee, and that his intent to import drugs was recognized because he attached the packaged Philopon to intimate parts of his body.

The market value of the 1.1 kg of Philopon they tried to smuggle was about 330 million won, enough for more than 30,000 people to use simultaneously.

The court stated, "As drug crimes become internationalized and organized, the import and distribution of drugs in the country are rapidly increasing, necessitating severe punishment," and added, "Considering the method of the crime and the volume of the transaction, the nature of the crime is serious. However, it took into account that all the smuggled drugs were seized and did not enter distribution."