Including Packaging, Approximately 1,988 kg
Enough for 57 Million People to Use Simultaneously
Crew members involved in the cocaine smuggling case at Okgye Port in Gangneung are being brought to trial one after another.
On May 28, the Gangneung Branch of the Chuncheon District Prosecutors' Office announced that it had indicted, under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (Narcotics), two Filipino deckhands, identified as A (28) and B (40), on charges of narcotics offenses. The ship's engineer, C (34), and engine crew member, D (31), were indicted and detained on charges of aiding and abetting narcotics offenses under the same law.
The prosecution indicted A and B on May 20, and indicted C and D on May 28.
In early February, A agreed to receive 4 million pesos (approximately 100 million won) from unidentified drug traffickers in exchange for transporting narcotics. A is accused of rendezvousing with two boats carrying cocaine in international waters near Peru, receiving approximately 1,690 kg (1.69 tons) of cocaine divided into 56 sacks, each containing 1 kg, and then bringing and concealing the cocaine onboard the vessel.
B is accused of conspiring with A by providing him with navigation information and participating in the possession and transportation of the cocaine. C and D were approached by A in March with a request to help transport the narcotics. Despite knowing that drugs were onboard, they failed to report this to the captain, thereby aiding and abetting A and B in possessing and transporting cocaine to Okgye Port in Gangneung.
The crew hid the cocaine in an empty area called the cofferdam in the engine room. The total weight of the cocaine they attempted to smuggle, including packaging, was approximately 1,988 kg. This amount is enough for 57 million people to use simultaneously.
The vessel that concealed the cocaine entered Okgye Port in Gangneung on the morning of April 2 as a ballast ship (a vessel entering port without cargo), after passing through Dangjin Port in South Chungcheong Province, Zhangjiagang and Zapu Ports in China. The Donghae Regional Coast Guard Headquarters and Seoul Main Customs received information that a vessel was carrying suspected narcotics into Korea, searched the L-ho vessel, and discovered a large quantity of suspected cocaine.
Subsequently, on April 3, the Donghae Coast Guard Headquarters and Seoul Main Customs established a joint investigation team and launched a full-scale investigation. The joint investigation team has so far referred a total of four individuals to detention and prosecution in connection with this case.
In addition, for four crew members who disembarked before the vessel entered Okgye Port, Interpol red notices are being processed. Investigators believe that, considering the volume of cocaine distributed domestically, the final destination was likely not South Korea, and are continuing to investigate the ultimate destination.
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