"A Herbal Pharmacist Helping Make Drugs?..." Gang Made 1.36 kg of Meth Using Cold Medicine

Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Narcotics Crime Investigation Division arrests methamphetamine manufacturing and sales ring
Crime carried out in long-vacant apartment in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province
Case highlights need for oversight of over-the-counter medicine distribution

Thirteen people, including a herbal pharmacist, have been arrested for drug-related offenses after manufacturing methamphetamine using cold medicine and aiding its production. Police seized 1.36 kg of methamphetamine, enough for 40,000 people to use at the same time. This is the largest case in South Korea involving methamphetamine manufactured using cold medicine.

Cold medicine used to manufacture methamphetamine. Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency

On November 3, the Narcotics Crime Investigation Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Metropolitan Investigation Unit said it had arrested 13 people for manufacturing and selling methamphetamine using ingredients from cold medicine and hazardous chemicals. Four of them, including Person A, identified as the ringleader of the manufacturing operation, have been detained.

Person A and four others are suspected of extracting pseudoephedrine from cold medicine and mixing it with chemicals to manufacture 1.36 kg of methamphetamine in an apartment in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, between April 2025 and June 2026.

Herbal pharmacist Person B is suspected of helping manufacture methamphetamine by selling Person A 16,100 packs of cold medicine, containing 636,600 tablets in total, on six occasions between January and June 2026, despite knowing that Person A was manufacturing methamphetamine.

Investigators found that two people, including Person C, acted on Person A's instructions to collect the cold medicine from Person B on Person A's behalf and deliver it to Person A. Pharmacy manager Person D, a colleague of herbal pharmacist Person B, also allegedly sold cold medicine to Person A without a pharmacist's license between November 2025 and January 2026.

Two people, including Person E, who sold industrial chemicals, are suspected of selling sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid to Person A without recording the transactions in a ledger.

Inside a methamphetamine manufacturing site using ingredients from cold medicine. Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

Careful Planning After Recruiting Accomplices... Drug Production Worth 4.2 Billion Won

Investigators believe Person A recruited accomplices, mainly people he had met while serving time in prison, and assigned them different roles to secure cold medicine and hazardous chemicals.

They also chose an apartment that had been vacant for a long time amid a lien dispute and was rarely frequented. They monitored and controlled outsiders' access using CCTV cameras and a parking barrier.

After the technician they initially recruited failed to manufacture methamphetamine, the suspects replaced the technician with someone who had previously manufactured methamphetamine using cold medicine and continued their criminal operation.

They set up a separate storage facility for manufacturing equipment and industrial chemicals, and carefully researched how to make methamphetamine using overseas academic papers and science experiment videos available online, as well as court rulings on similar crimes.

Police referred herbal pharmacist Person B to prosecutors on suspicion of aiding methamphetamine production and fully recovered 95 million won in criminal proceeds earned from cold medicine sales through a pre-indictment asset preservation order.

Police also asked the National Tax Service to file complaints against everyone involved over suspected tax evasion through off-the-books sales of cold medicine between two pharmacies identified during the investigation of Person B and pharmaceutical wholesalers.

An apartment in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, where Person A and others manufactured methamphetamine. They chose the apartment because it had been vacant for a long time due to a lien dispute and was rarely frequented. Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency

In connection with the case, police seized 1.36 kg of methamphetamine, 635 g of pseudoephedrine, large quantities of methamphetamine manufacturing equipment and hazardous chemicals, and recovered 130 million won in criminal proceeds. The methamphetamine is worth approximately 4.2 billion won at street prices and is enough for 40,000 people to use at the same time. This is the largest quantity seized in a case in South Korea involving methamphetamine manufactured using cold medicine.

A Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency official said, "This case has shown the need to improve oversight of the distribution of over-the-counter medicines that could be misused as ingredients for manufacturing methamphetamine."

The official added, "We will continue to closely trace the distribution of medicines and hazardous chemicals that could be misused to manufacture narcotics and focus our investigative efforts on preventing the illegal manufacture of narcotics."

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