British national who smuggled ecstasy into Korea sentenced to nine years in prison
Published: 17 Mar. 2026, 20:10
![Police seize ecstasy from a British national who smuggled the drug into Korea in August 2025. [GYEONGNAM PROVINCIAL POLICE]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/03/17/82ab8115-b0e5-4b1c-8596-c9e3390129e7.jpg)
Police seize ecstasy from a British national who smuggled the drug into Korea in August 2025. [GYEONGNAM PROVINCIAL POLICE]
A British national who smuggled ecstasy into Korea by concealing it inside their body and later manufactured pills using the drug has been sentenced to nine years in prison, a court said on Tuesday.
The Changwon District Court’s criminal division sentenced the defendant’s partner, also a British national, to three years in prison for assisting in the crime.
The defendant received about 360 grams (13 ounces) of ecstasy powder, worth roughly 108 million won ($72,400), from an international drug trafficking group in London last August, according to the ruling. The defendant concealed the substance inside their body before entering Korea on a flight.
After retrieving the drugs, the defendant manufactured 104 ecstasy pills in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang, in September last year.
The partner assisted in the manufacturing process.
“The method of the crime was highly bold, and the quantity of imported ecstasy was substantial,” the court said. “The offense led to actual drug production, making the nature of the crime particularly serious.”
“Both defendants admitted to the charges and showed remorse. In the partner’s case, the court considered that the partner only learned about the concealment after entering Korea for travel,” the court added.
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 JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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