'White-Haired Elderly Man' Who Transported 5 Tons of Drugs by Sea Caught After 22 Years

Deep-sea fishing vessel supervisor... spent 22 years on the run in Ghana

A drug courier who transported more than 5 tons of narcotics on the high seas off South America was caught 22 years later. He had been aboard a deep-sea fishing vessel as the person in charge when the crimes took place, and had become a white-haired elderly man while living as a fugitive in Africa.

The National Police Agency said on Monday that, in a joint operation with the Busan Coast Guard, it had repatriated to South Korea a man in his 80s, identified as A, who was wanted under an Interpol Red Notice on suspicion of violating the Narcotics Control Act. He was returned through deportation procedures carried out by Ghanaian authorities.

An octogenarian identified as A, who was placed on Interpol's Red Notice list on suspicion of transporting drugs for a drug trafficking organization in international waters off South America from 2002 to 2004, is being repatriated to South Korea on the 20th. National Police Agency.

According to police, A is suspected of boarding a deep-sea fishing vessel as the person responsible for its management and supervision between 2002 and 2004, then transporting 5,385 kilograms of narcotics received from a drug trafficking organization on the high seas off South America in five separate trips and receiving payment for the deliveries. The drugs are believed to have been cocaine, with an estimated street value of 4.8 trillion won.

While his accomplices who had been aboard the deep-sea fishing vessel with him were prosecuted for the crimes, A fled to Ghana. He then spent more than 20 years evading authorities there as an undocumented immigrant. Despite the passage of many years, the Busan Coast Guard continued its pursuit, including by requesting that Interpol issue a Red Notice. In particular, the National Police Agency succeeded in locating A in Ghana through information sharing and an international joint investigation with the Ghanaian police.

With the cooperation of the embassy, police arranged for local authorities to arrest and deport A on suspicion of illegal stay. The Busan Coast Guard plans to investigate how he transported the narcotics, the payments he received, and his links to the drug trafficking organization.

A National Police Agency official said, "This repatriation is the result of close cooperation among the two agencies, the police and the Coast Guard, as well as the local embassy and Ghanaian authorities. We will continue to track down suspects who have fled overseas until they are brought to justice."

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