'10 Million Won Part-Time Job' Involving High School Students in Drug Trafficking... 7 Billion Won Worth of Drugs Smuggled in Cambodia

Incheon District Prosecutors' Office Uncovers Overseas Drug Smuggling Organization Including 'Jigekkun' and 'Draper'

More than 710,000 doses of drugs smuggled from Cambodia into South Korea were seized in a large-scale crackdown by prosecutors, involving a manager and couriers including high school students.

The Violent Crime Investigation Division of Incheon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Park Seong-min) announced on the 2nd that 15 people, including the drug smuggling organization manager Mr. A (23), were arrested and indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes related to psychotropic substances, while co-conspirator Mr. B (31), already detained for another case, was indicted without detention. Additionally, three others, including the local sender currently on the run overseas, were placed on Interpol's red notice.

Mr. A and others are accused of smuggling 21 kg of methamphetamine and 1.4 kg of ketamine from Cambodia into South Korea from December last year until last month. The drugs smuggled by members of four organizations, including synthetic marijuana weighing 2.3 kg, were estimated to be worth approximately 7 billion KRW (based on retail prices).

They acted as so-called "jigegun" (porters) who transported methamphetamine and other drugs domestically under the direction of Mr. A, the overall manager in Cambodia. Mr. B and others concealed drugs in body belts, travel bags, and the soles of sneakers before boarding passenger planes and arriving at Incheon International Airport.

The couriers joined the crime after contacting recruiters through advertisements for "high-paying part-time jobs," agreeing to receive 10 million KRW as payment for transporting drugs. Among the couriers caught, 11 were first-time offenders with no prior drug-related records, and four of them were all 19 years old, including one high school student.

Photo of wearing a vest hiding drugs [Provided by Incheon District Prosecutors' Office]

Among the four drug organizations, the upper echelon of one group was identified as the same individual who previously distributed drug-infused beverages in the academy district of Daechi-dong, Seoul, and there were confirmed circumstances involving ethnic Korean Chinese (Joseonjok) as well.

A prosecutor stated, "In the past, drug smuggling was conducted mainly through the personal networks of drug offenders, but recently, couriers (jigegun) are recruited from the general public via secure SNS platforms such as Telegram, forming a non-face-to-face and cell-like structure."

He added, "Because the black market price of drugs is high in our country, drug smuggling organizations can make large sums of money even after one or two successful operations, so couriers are often 'scapegoated' and discarded like expendable items when caught and detained," and he emphasized, "We will thoroughly prepare for trials to ensure that those who smuggle large quantities of drugs receive heavy sentences equivalent to life imprisonment or imprisonment of 10 years or more."