14 people arrested, 26 referred to prosecutors on drug smuggling, distribution charges
Published: 31 Jul. 2025, 13:39
Updated: 31 Jul. 2025, 17:18
![An image of Seocho Police Station [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/07/31/4825495a-f848-46a9-9be4-1a47095f24ae.jpg)
An image of Seocho Police Station [YONHAP]
Police arrested 14 people and referred 26 suspects to prosecutors for smuggling and distributing narcotics, including methamphetamine and ketamine, from the Philippines into Korea.
The smuggled drugs — 5.5 kilograms of meth and 4 kilograms of ketamine — were enough for approximately 260,000 individual doses, according to police. Some of the suspects were deceived by advertisements for high-paying part-time jobs and joined the operation as recruiters. These individuals have been referred to prosecutors without detention.
The Seocho Police Precinct in southern Seoul said Thursday that it had apprehended a network of traffickers and smugglers who brought in and distributed drugs from the Philippines over the past three months.
During the investigation, police seized a total of 14 kilograms of narcotics, including 1.6 kilograms of meth and 3.1 kilograms of ketamine that had not yet been distributed, along with 9.3 kilograms of synthetic marijuana and 401 ecstasy pills that were found in the traffickers’ possession.
The smugglers hid the drugs in packages labeled sunflower seeds. After initially apprehending one of the local distributors in April, police tracked down three smugglers who had concealed 5.5 kilograms of meth and 4 kilograms of ketamine inside sunflower seed bags and smuggled them into the country in seven shipments from March to May.
The trafficking network operated nationwide — in the greater Seoul area, Busan, Gwangju and Daegu — using social media platforms like Telegram to distribute the drugs. Many of the suspects were found to have been recruited under the false promise of earning high wages.
“We will continue to work with foreign law enforcement and related agencies to crack down on drug crimes,” said an official from the Seocho Police Precinct.
Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY OH SO-YEONG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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