West Sea Coast Guard Blocks Smuggling of Drugs for 200,000 Doses... Thai Distributor Arrested

The West Sea Regional Coast Guard, in cooperation with related agencies, has apprehended a domestic distributor who attempted a large-scale smuggling of narcotics.

According to the West Sea Regional Coast Guard on the 28th, a Thai national, referred to as A, was arrested on May 20 at a house in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, on charges of attempting to smuggle methamphetamine into Korea and possessing a large quantity of psychotropic drugs.

A is suspected of attempting to bring 6.05 kilograms of methamphetamine, with a street value of approximately 2.4 billion won, into the country. This amount is estimated to be enough for about 200,000 people to take simultaneously.

Yaba seized from the suspect's residence.
Photo by the West Sea Regional Coast Guard Headquarters

During the investigation, 4,212 yaba tablets, a type of psychotropic drug, were also discovered at A's residence. The seized yaba is valued at approximately 200 million won. It was confirmed that the methamphetamine intended for smuggling was detected in advance by authorities in Thailand and was seized by Thai law enforcement.

The Coast Guard believes that these drugs were intended to be distributed mainly among foreign sailors residing in Korea and foreign workers at entertainment establishments, and is expanding its investigation.

Ryu Seok-am, head of the narcotics investigation division at the West Sea Regional Coast Guard, stated, "Through close cooperation between related agencies, we were able to block the large-scale influx of narcotics into the country in advance," and added, "We plan to expand our investigation into both the overseas organizations involved in the smuggling and the entire domestic distribution network."

This investigation was carried out under a cooperative system centered on the West Sea Regional Coast Guard, with participation from the National Intelligence Service, the Gwangju Immigration Office, and the Gwangju Customs Office.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.