Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Narcotics Crime Investigation Unit
10 Sellers and Buyers Arrested
A group that recruited drug buyers through the dark web and received payment via virtual assets to illicitly profit was mass arrested by the police.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Narcotics Crime Investigation Unit announced on the 24th that they arrested 60 individuals involved in selling and using drugs on the dark web on charges including violations of the Narcotics Control Act, and among them, 10 people?7 sellers and 3 buyers?were detained.
According to the police, six sellers including Mr. A (46) are accused of supplying marijuana cultivated in a vinyl greenhouse on a mountain in Chungnam and methamphetamine supplied by domestic maritime traders from January to April. These six sellers are connected as seniors, juniors, or relatives.
Another four sellers who supplied drugs to them and 50 people who purchased and used the drugs were also arrested together.
Mr. A and others recruited buyers on the dark web, received money via virtual assets, and sold drugs using a method known as 'throwing'. It was investigated that Mr. A received two accounts that could be used as sellers on a dark web drug trading site from an acquaintance who was detained in another case and conspired to commit the crime since December last year.
They divided roles systematically, including marijuana cultivation and supply, managing seller accounts responsible for dark web advertising and order responses, and methamphetamine 'throwing', accumulating criminal proceeds of 26 million KRW. Most of the group have repeated drug crimes for 20 years, with up to 15 prior convictions for similar offenses.
Additionally, the supplier who sold marijuana to them is a man in his 40s who illegally cultivated marijuana on a 968㎡ (292-pyeong) field on a mountain in Chungnam since last year, based on his experience in landscaping work. He joined the crime after being introduced to one of the sellers by an acquaintance while looking for a marijuana sales channel.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Dark Web and Virtual Asset Special Investigation Team detected the group's movements in February, arrested them, and sequentially apprehended others involved, including the marijuana supplier. In particular, additional charges of organizing, joining, and participating in a criminal organization under the Criminal Act were applied to the sellers.
Furthermore, the police seized approximately 17.2 kg of marijuana (including 4.9 kg of liquid marijuana), 205 live marijuana plants, methamphetamine, and other narcotics worth about 2.68 billion KRW, and plan to continue investigations into related crimes.
A police official stated, "Since the dark web remains a hotbed for narcotics crimes, thorough monitoring is necessary," and urged, "Please carefully observe your surroundings and actively report any suspicious cases."
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