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Swiss national in their 80s gets jail time for attempting to smuggle meth into Jeju

Published: 02 Nov. 2025, 13:39 Updated: 02 Nov. 2025, 17:38

[KOREA JOONGANG DAILY]

A Swiss national in their 80s has been sentenced to prison for attempting to smuggle 2.98 kilograms (6.57 pounds) of methamphetamine into Jeju.

The Jeju District Court recently handed a three-year, six-month prison sentence to the Swiss national for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, specifically related to psychotropic drugs.

They were caught on March 30 after hiding the methamphetamine in a travel suitcase at Phnom Penh International Airport in Cambodia. They checked the bag as airline luggage and attempted to bring it into Jeju International Airport via Hong Kong.

In court, the defendant claimed that they brought the suitcase into Korea at the request of an unidentified individual and were unaware that it contained drugs. The defense lawyer said the defendant had been contacted on social media by someone who claimed to be sending a gift to a Japanese banker and offered $8.5 million to deliver the suitcase.

“Considering the circumstances under which the defendant traveled to Cambodia and brought the suitcase, it does not appear that they clearly recognized that the suitcase contained narcotics," said the court. Nevertheless, the bench found that the defendant would have gone along with the assignment even if drugs were involved.

The judge added, “Drug-related crimes not only spread drugs throughout society but also lead to further crimes, posing a serious threat to the public. Strict punishment is necessary to prevent drug trafficking at its source.”

However, the court explained that the sentence took into account the fact that all the methamphetamine was confiscated before it could be distributed and that the defendant did not participate in the act with the intent to smuggle the drugs.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG HYE-JEONG [[email protected]]