Gyeongnam police arrest group of 18 drug carriers

Social Affairs

Published: 08 Mar. 2023, 11:18 Updated: 08 Mar. 2023, 16:02

Gyeongnam police arrest group of 18 drug carriers

A police officer shows one of the windowsills in the residential area where drug carriers hid the packages of drugs. [GYEONGNAM PROVINCIAL POLICE]

The police arrested a group of drug carriers, or “droppers,” who say they were dazzled into the activity in hopes of pocketing big money fast.

The Gyeongnam Provincial Police announced Tuesday that it arrested 18 drug carriers who allegedly distributed drugs such as methamphetamine, ketamine and synthetic marijuana throughout the country. Of the arrested droppers, 14 were in either in their 20s or 30s.

These droppers received drugs from drug dealers and hid them in gas pipelines or under windowsills of residential areas, referred to as “tossing” among drug criminals according to the police. Many had been tossing around drugs for as long as a year.

Droppers would dig up some 50 grams of drugs buried along the side of nearby hills after receiving a call from one of the dealers, then repackaged them in smaller amounts for tosses. They made some 80 runs each day.

Drug buyers made payments to the dealers with bitcoin, according to the police.

The arrested droppers said they saw high-paying part-time job postings on the internet and online messenger, signed up and got in contact with the suppliers. Most of them said they were financially tight, having spent their money on online gambling and weighed down by debt.

They were paid some 30,000 won ($23) per toss, which on average mounted to 4 million won a week.

A police officer digs up a drug package hid in the side of a hill. [GYEONGNAM PROVINCIAL POLICE]

Police investigation revealed that the carriers were systematically managed by the drug ring. The organization had dropper applicants submit their personal ID and information to be “hired,” which was a way to prevent them from turning themselves into law enforcement agencies.

Drug dealers ran a “trial period” for dropper applicants. The week-long process involved probationary droppers practicing runs with sugar, tossing it in a designated location and reporting the drop within a time limit.

They even had an employee rule of conduct on punctuality. A dropper who showed up late for the first time had to pay a 100,000-won penalty, 300,000 won for a second tardy, 500,000 won for a third and 1 million won for a fourth. A fifth tardy resulted in getting laid off.

Around 20 percent of the wage was saved as a nest egg for legal fees in case the dropper was arrested, but the arrested runners never actually received the savings.

Police authorities also arrested 82 buyers — 67 in their 20s and 30s — who claimed they purchased drugs for entertainment, stress relief and out of curiosity.

Young people are getting more involved in narcotic crimes, according to the annual “White Paper on Drug-related Crimes” published by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.

In 2019 and 2020, the highest portion of drug criminals were in their 30s. In 2021, those in their 20s topped the list. There were 38 teenage drug criminals in 2012, and the number soared to 450 in 2021.

BY AN DAE-HUN [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]