26 Members of International Narcotics UN Organization Arrested
Composed of Korea, Malaysia, and China
The police arrested 26 members of an international drug syndicate composed of organizations from Korea, Malaysia, and China, and seized methamphetamine worth 83 billion KRW. It was confirmed that they meticulously committed the crime by hiding drugs inside wooden cutting boards and dividing roles among each country's organization to avoid detection during customs procedures.
On the 10th, the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul announced that they had arrested a total of 26 members of the international drug syndicate on charges including organizing a criminal group and violating the Special Act on Anti-Corruption, and detained 14 of them, including managers and distributors. This alliance, composed of organizations from Korea, Malaysia, and China, is suspected of smuggling 74 kg of methamphetamine manufactured by the Malaysian drug organization into the country and distributing it.
According to the police, the Malaysian syndicate leader known as 'Michael' distributed the methamphetamine he manufactured to Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, and linked up with an unidentified Korean leader and the Chinese leader known as 'Luya' to enter the Korean market. The Malaysian organization was responsible for smuggling methamphetamine into Korea, the Korean organization secured smuggling routes and handled transportation and storage, and the Chinese organization was responsible for distribution and sales, dividing roles systematically.
The police traced their movements starting from the arrest of a woman in her 30s, a simple user, at the end of July. During the investigation, they arrested two Chinese syndicate distributors who sold methamphetamine to this woman. Over three months until the 27th of last month, they arrested 26 people in 23 operations and conducted 10 searches, seizing 27.8 kg of methamphetamine, enough for 926,000 simultaneous doses. This amount is valued at 83.4 billion KRW.
A Malaysian member is delivering methamphetamine to a Chinese member / Photo by Yeongdeungpo Police Station
The police also arrested two Malaysian syndicate members who operated from a one-room rental base in Korea and recovered methamphetamine that the Malaysian leader was preparing to ship via international cargo at Kuala Lumpur Airport. They had hidden 32 kg of methamphetamine packaged inside wooden cutting boards, and when this disguised cargo was not detected during customs, they attempted to ship about 100 kg of methamphetamine hidden in the same way via international cargo.
A police official stated, "We plan to cooperate with local police to fully understand the Malaysian syndicate and will arrest the remaining unidentified members, including the Korean leader, as soon as possible. We will also focus our investigative efforts on recovering the remaining methamphetamine distributed domestically."
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