Eight apprehended for alleged drug trafficking

A group of suspects accused of selling drugs at a club in southern Seoul were arrested by the police. [SEOUL GWANAK POLICE PRECINCT]

Eight people accused of trafficking and purchasing drugs at a club in southern Seoul were apprehended, the police said on Tuesday.

Two of the eight suspects — a 34-year-old club employee and a 32-year-old supplier — were referred to the prosecution for both selling drugs to customers at the club and using them personally, according to Seoul Gwanak Police Precinct.

The worker at the club is accused of selling and using drugs, which were sourced from the unemployed 32-year-old supplier, from January to April last year.

Police seized some 0.72 grams of marijuana, 3.46 grams of ketamine, 1.55 grams of methamphetamines, commonly known as meth or philopon in Korea, and some 330 unknown pills, a total amount sufficient for around 100 people to ingest. Authorities also requested the confiscation of the proceeds from the drugs sale, worth 15 million won ($11,800).

The 32-year-old supplier, who was sentenced to a year in prison for a previous violation of the Narcotics Control Act, contacted the 34-year-old worker at the club again in May, less than a month after being released, to sell drugs, police said.

Others apprehended for purchasing these drugs include a 25-year-old influencer with over 800,000 subscribers and a model. A doctor who also offered some drugs to the club worker was also taken into custody.

Police launched an investigation into the case after suspecting the influencer of being involved in the drug scheme and detaining her for purchasing these drugs at the club in April last year.

“Crackdowns on the distribution of drugs through entertainment establishments will be continued moving forward,” a police officer from the drug investigation team at Gwanak Police Precinct said.

Multiple drug cases that occurred in southern Seoul have been reported to the police in recent months.

In April, police detained and investigated a man living in Gangnam District, southern Seoul for wandering around naked while intoxicated. The 40-something-year-old is accused of banging on other people’s doors and ringing their doorbells in multi-family housing in the morning. Some syringes, marijuana and meth were found in the suspect's bag, according to Suseo Police Precinct. He also tested positive on a drug test.

BY LEE JI-YOUNG, CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]