The Fate of the 'Dropper' Who Hid Drugs in Underwear and Buried Them in the Ground

"Important Role Sharing in Philopon Sales"

A drug 'dropper' who hid drugs in underwear, smuggled them into the country via air travel, and then buried them in the ground to assist in their sale has been sentenced to prison. A dropper refers to a person who directly places drugs at a hiding spot.

According to Yonhap News on the 11th, the Criminal Division 1 of the Wonju Branch of Chuncheon District Court (Chief Judge Lee Su-woong) sentenced A (36), who was detained and prosecuted on charges including violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (psychotropic substances), to seven years in prison. The court also ordered 40 hours of drug addiction treatment program and an additional fine of 21,144,000 KRW.

Drug search [Photo by Yonhap News]

A is accused of hiding methamphetamine left by someone at a lodging facility in Thailand in his underwear and smuggling it into the country twice through Incheon Airport on August 19 and September 25 of last year. The amount of smuggled methamphetamine was about 886 grams, with an estimated market value of approximately 88.6 million KRW.

He is also charged with selling drugs by dividing 300 grams of smuggled methamphetamine into 100-gram portions and burying them in a clearing on a hiking trail in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, around 8:14 p.m. on August 21 of the same year, sending photos of the buried drugs to buyers and collecting payment. Additionally, the indictment includes charges of using psychotropic substances at a bar in Bangkok, Thailand, around 11 p.m. on September 12 of the same year.

In court, A claimed, "The methamphetamine buried in the ground was merely buried and I had no intention to conspire or participate in its sale."

However, the court ruled, "Direct face-to-face contact is unusual in the so-called 'drop' method of drug sales, and if the methamphetamine had not been buried, the buyer would not have been able to retrieve it, so it can be seen that A played an important role in the sale of methamphetamine."

It added, "Considering that drug crimes are difficult to detect and can cause serious adverse effects on society as a whole, strict punishment is necessary," but also noted, "Considering that (A) cooperated with the investigation and the profits gained from the crime were not significant," explaining the sentencing reasons.

Meanwhile, drug-related crimes are increasing day by day. According to the 'Monthly Drug Trends' published by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the number of drug offenders caught by prosecutors last year was 27,611, a 50.1% increase compared to 18,395 in 2022. In particular, the proportion of drug offenders in their 20s has increased. Among drug offenders caught by prosecutors last year, the age group with the highest proportion was those in their 20s (8,368), accounting for 30.3% of the total.

In this regard, there are also concerns that methods have diversified, such as using internet communities or anonymous chat apps, increasing drug accessibility among digitally savvy people in their 20s.