Diver Found on Ulsan Moored Cargo Ship CJest
Equivalent to Simultaneous Dosage for 940,000 People
Estimated Market Value Approximately 14.2 Billion KRW
About 28kg of cocaine was discovered on a cargo ship that arrived from Mexico and docked at Ulsan Onsan Port, prompting prosecutors to launch an investigation. This amount is enough for approximately 940,000 people to use simultaneously, with a market value of 14.2 billion KRW.
On the 15th, Yonhap News reported that the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office is conducting an investigation in cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) regarding the 28kg of cocaine seized from the Mexico-bound cargo ship docked at Ulsan Onsan Port.
The cocaine was found in the sea chest, a passage through which seawater is drawn to balance the ship or for cooling purposes. This part is usually submerged in seawater. On the 6th, a diver discovered a suspicious bag while removing barnacles attached to the sea chest and reported it. Inside the black bag, the cocaine was packaged into 28 blocks, each weighing 1kg. Among these, GPS (location tracking devices) believed to have been concealed and installed within two of the blocks were also found.
After the Daegu Regional Customs Office, the competent authority, conducted a rapid reagent test confirming the presence of cocaine, the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office immediately launched an investigation. According to the prosecutors, based on a single dose of 0.03g, the seized cocaine could be used simultaneously by about 940,000 people, with an estimated market value of approximately 14.2 billion KRW.
The prosecutors stated that they are currently analyzing evidence including searches of the cargo ship’s interior and exterior, mobile phones of 19 multinational crew members on board, the ship’s closed-circuit television (CCTV), and entry and exit routes. So far, the investigation suggests that the cocaine was concealed on the cargo ship last year. The last sea chest cleaning was conducted on June 3, 2023, and considering that the batteries of the GPS devices, which have a lifespan of one year, were completely drained and non-functional, as well as the barnacle formations growing on the surface of the cocaine bags, it is presumed that the cocaine was hidden in 2023 and left unattended.
There is no indication that the crew members on board were involved in the cocaine smuggling.
The prosecutors said, "Large quantities of cocaine have been seized from vessels that passed through Korea en route to other countries or from cargo that could not be unloaded in other countries," adding, "It is highly likely that Korea was not the actual destination."
The cargo ship where the cocaine was found is a 25,000-ton Singapore-registered vessel transporting zinc and lead ore. It departed from Manzanillo Port, Mexico, on the 4th of last month, stopped at Vancouver Port, Canada, between the 16th and 19th of the same month, and arrived at Ulsan Onsan Port on the 5th. It was scheduled to proceed to New Zealand via Japan.
A prosecutor involved stated, "We are conducting a joint investigation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and continue to investigate to identify those responsible for the cocaine smuggling."
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