Mass Arrests of Drug Offenders... "Transactions in Open Chat Rooms"

Buying and Selling Drugs Through Anonymous Chat Rooms... 2,000 Doses of Philopon
Using 'Euneo' Slang and Searching for People to Use Together

A group involved in recruiting people to use drugs together and conducting transactions through an open chat room has been arrested. The photo shows the seized items. Photo by Gyeonggi Bukbu Police Agency

[Asia Economy Culture Young Intern Reporter] Drug offenders who met through open chat rooms to trade drugs and recruit people to use drugs together were arrested in large numbers.

The Uijeongbu Police Station in Gyeonggi announced on the 7th that they arrested 75 people on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act, and among them, 7 habitual sellers and users were detained. They are suspected of posting recruitment messages seeking people to use drugs such as Philopon and gathering at lodging facilities to use drugs together.

The police seized 60g of Philopon, 100.6g of marijuana, synthetic marijuana, 63 zolpidem tablets, and 19 tablets of a new drug called Rush. Notably, 60g of Philopon is enough for 2,000 people to use at once.

The Uijeongbu Police Station received intelligence that advertisements using slang terms meaning various drugs, such as "ice" and "cool alcohol," were posted on chat applications, and have been investigating since March.

As a result of the investigation, it was found that through anonymous social networking service (SNS) open chat rooms, not only were posts selling drugs made, but there were also many cases where people sought others to use drugs together by saying, "I have drugs, so let's use them together."

Also, sellers conducted transactions using a "throwing" method, leaving drugs at specific locations, and buyers purchased drugs using cryptocurrencies and other means. Drug users were diverse, including self-employed individuals and delivery workers.

A police official stated, "Even if you do not have drugs, you can easily use drugs if you find someone who wants to use them together," adding, "Many people first encountered drugs through these routes at a young age."

The police will continue to monitor drug advertisements on platforms with high drug transactions such as Telegram and the dark web, and will track and arrest related suspects.