South Korea's government joint investigation headquarters on drug crimes said it repatriated three drug smugglers who had fled overseas and indicted them under detention, while arresting a smuggling ringleader who had been hiding in Laos. Investigators have also identified 14 additional smuggling and distribution ringleaders who supplied drugs to South Korea from abroad using social media and are pursuing their repatriation.
The joint headquarters said on the 27th that it brought the three smugglers back to South Korea through extradition and other means between April and August after they fled the country following smuggling operations, and indicted them under detention. Investigators also located the hideout of a smuggling ringleader who had fled to Laos, arrested him in cooperation with local police and seized 1 kilogram of heroin in his possession.
The three repatriated suspects are accused of bringing methamphetamine and MDMA into South Korea from countries including Thailand, the Netherlands and France. A suspect identified as A, repatriated from Thailand, smuggled 1.31 kilograms of methamphetamine worth 131 million won ($95,000) from Thailand into South Korea in April, while a Vietnamese national identified as B and a Korean American identified as C smuggled drugs into the country from Britain and the United States, respectively.
In Laos, a suspect identified as D was arrested on charges of smuggling 4.48 kilograms of Mexican-origin methamphetamine worth 450 million won into South Korea. The methamphetamine was valued at about 448 million won. The joint headquarters expanded its investigation after arresting the domestic recipient in March and identified D as the upstream supplier. Investigators then worked with the National Intelligence Service and officers dispatched to Laos to locate the hideout and make the arrest.
The joint headquarters also cross-analyzed information gathered from its investigations into drug smuggling, distribution and sales cases with intelligence provided by agencies including the National Intelligence Service, identifying the personal details and offenses of 14 additional smuggling and distribution ringleaders who had been operating from overseas behind the anonymity of social media. The headquarters is pursuing repatriation procedures against them, including Interpol red notices and extradition requests.
The headquarters said it plans to seek ways to maintain the joint investigation and international cooperation capabilities it has built up even under the criminal justice system that changes in October. "We will actively seek ways to preserve and develop the capabilities the joint headquarters has accumulated under the changed criminal justice system, and root out drug ringleaders operating in the shadows overseas," an official at the headquarters said.
