A Woman in Her 30s Told to "Take Off Your Sanitary Pad"... Drug Test Result 'No Abnormality' Revealed

30s Woman Body-Searched After Positive Test from Companion's Bag
Due to E-Cigarette... Cleared After 20-Minute Inspection

A controversy has emerged after it was revealed that a woman in her 30s entering through Daegu Airport was subjected to a body search that included removing her sanitary pad due to an error in the customs drug detection equipment.

This is a demonstration of drug detection by Daegu Main Customs, unrelated to the article content. Provided by Daegu Main Customs.

On the 18th, Yonhap News reported on the incident that occurred on the morning of the 8th at Daegu Airport. At that time, the ion scanner drug detection equipment installed at Daegu Airport showed a high drug reaction level from the e-cigarette liquid inside a suitcase. The suitcase belonged to a group including a woman in her 30s, Ms. A, who told the Daegu Regional Customs Office, "The e-cigarette liquid was mine."

Subsequently, the Daegu Regional Customs Office re-examined Ms. A and her group using a millimeter-wave scanner, a machine that detects objects attached to the body. During the inspection, the customs officers discovered an object attached near Ms. A’s pants. It was a sanitary pad she was wearing. Customs explained that there have been previous cases of smuggling drugs hidden in sanitary pads and other feminine products and requested Ms. A to show her sanitary pad. Ms. A pulled her pants forward to show the sanitary pad she was wearing, but the customs officers said this was insufficient and asked her to remove the sanitary pad entirely to show it.

Eventually, Ms. A was taken to the staff room where she had to remove her pants and underwear and also take off the sanitary pad she was wearing to show it to a female customs officer at the Daegu Regional Customs Office. After a 20-minute inspection, the customs office concluded that no suspicious drug-related items were found and there was no problem.

In a phone interview with Yonhap News, Ms. A said, "I was so stressed by what happened at the airport that I experienced bleeding for five days." In response, a Daegu Regional Customs Office official explained, "There have recently been two cases where drugs were actually hidden in specific parts of the body and detected," adding, "Since drug issues are a big social problem, the staff were trying hard, which led to this situation." Regarding the drug detection equipment error, the official said, "The molecular composition of the e-cigarette liquid was similar to that of drugs, which caused this, but it does not happen often," and added, "We will strive to prevent innocent citizens from suffering damage in the future."

Meanwhile, in April, a group was caught smuggling and distributing about 1.7 kg of methamphetamine hidden in sanitary pads, enough for simultaneous use by about 57,000 people. At that time, the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency’s Narcotics Crime Investigation Unit announced that they had arrested Mr. B, a man in his 40s who was the mastermind based in the Philippines, on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act and were in the process of repatriating him to Korea. They also arrested 17 people involved in smuggling and sales and booked 31 accomplices without detention.

They are accused of smuggling and distributing 1.7 kg of methamphetamine from the Philippines to Korea between August last year and March this year. The smugglers passed through airport security by hiding methamphetamine wrapped in plastic inside sanitary pads and attaching them inside their underwear. The smuggled methamphetamine weighed 1.7 kg, with a market value of about 1.2 billion KRW, enough for about 57,000 people to use at once.