Korean Society Contaminated by Drugs... Increasing Crimes of Possession and Use Among Foreigners

Six Thai Nationals Caught Using Philopon in Gwangju
Drug Possession Also Detected During Traffic Signal Violation
Russian Sentenced to 4 Years for Buying Drugs with Bitcoin

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] South Korea is losing its status as a drug-free country. Recently, not only Korean nationals but also foreigners entering the country have been increasingly arrested by the police for drug-related crimes.

According to the police on the 13th, the Gwangju Western Police Station has arrested six people, including a Thai man in his 30s identified as Mr. A, on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act and is conducting an investigation.

All of them are men and women in their 20s and 30s holding Thai nationality, suspected of possessing and using drugs such as methamphetamine in the Gwangju and Jeonnam areas. It was found that they habitually used drugs, storing them in houses and cars.

Their crimes were uncovered when Mr. A was caught by the police after purchasing a stolen vehicle at a used car trading complex in Gwangju. While tracking the stolen vehicle, the police found drugs inside the car and conducted a simple test on Mr. A, the driver, which revealed drug use. This led to the additional arrest of five other Thai nationals.

In Gumi, Gyeongbuk Province, two Thai men were arrested after their drug possession was discovered during a traffic signal violation. The Gumi Police Station in Gyeongbuk urgently arrested two Thai men in their 20s and 30s on the 10th after investigating a vehicle that violated a traffic signal.

At around 12:45 a.m. on the 10th, they drove a passenger car through an intersection in Gumi, violating the traffic signal. After a chase of about 2 kilometers, the police caught them and seized approximately 40 grams of methamphetamine, enough for about 1,300 doses, found inside the vehicle.

In January, a Russian man in his 30s, Mr. B, who purchased drugs with Bitcoin and used them, was tried for violating the Narcotics Control Act and sentenced to four years in prison.

Mr. B is accused of bringing in 39 ecstasy pills through Incheon International Airport in August last year. He agreed to purchase ecstasy from Mr. C, whom he met on Telegram, bought Bitcoin worth 12,000 rubles (about 185,000 won), and paid with it.

He is also accused of smoking marijuana after being offered it while talking with a Kazakhstani man in an alley in Daejeon in June last year.