Police bust drug ring with narcotics smuggled from U.S.

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Police bust drug ring with narcotics smuggled from U.S.

Published: 18 Oct. 2024, 15:51

Footage from the arrest shows the dealer knocking on the back door of a black car, driven by undercover police officers posing as buyers, in March. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN POLICE AGENCY]

A drug trafficking ring attempting to sell narcotics smuggled from the United States has been busted by police posing as buyers.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's drug investigation unit apprehended 14 members of the ring on charges of drug violations and detained three of them, including a domestic distributor, according to police on Friday.

Interpol is currently searching for the leader of the overseas operation as well as the head of the domestic ring.

The investigation began when police received intelligence from the National Intelligence Service that a significant amount of ketamine smuggled from the United States was about to be distributed in Korea. Police launched a full-scale investigation in February, pretending to be drug buyers and trading drug samples with the sellers.

Just over a month into the operation, police arrested a local distributor attempting to sell 1.7 kilograms (3.7 pounds) of ketamine in March. Footage from the arrest shows the dealer knocking on the back door of a black car — driven by an undercover officer posing as a buyer — and getting into the front passenger seat. About 20 seconds later, another black car, driven by another police officer, pulled up. The officer exited the vehicle and apprehended the dealer.

Following the arrest, police reviewed the suspect's whereabouts using CCTV footage and raided a warehouse, leading to the arrest of 14 ring members.

A total of 1.8 kilograms of ketamine, nine sheets of synthetic marijuana, 21 grams (0.74 ounces) of regular marijuana and six ecstasy tablets were seized, with an estimated street value of 4.2 billion won ($3.06 million).

“We will focus our investigations on arresting smugglers and large-scale distributors as part of the ongoing crackdown on drug-related crimes, which has been in effect since August,” said a police official.

BY WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]