'Trap of High-Paying Part-Time Jobs': Young People Fall Into Drug Smuggling... "Heavy Sentences Await"

A young man who became involved in drug smuggling due to the lure of high-paying part-time work has been sentenced to a heavy prison term by the court. There is growing concern as drug organizations continue to recruit couriers by promoting "high-paying part-time jobs" targeting young people who are familiar with the online environment.

According to the Seoul Regional Customs Office of the Korea Customs Service on July 9, last month the court sentenced Mr. A (25) and Mr. B (29), who were caught violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, to three years in prison each and imposed a fine of 500,000 won on each of them.

A man in his 20s recruited by a drug organization is collecting controlled delivery drugs from a mailbox. Photo by Seoul Regional Customs Office, Korea Customs Service

While unemployed, they were unable to resist the temptation of high-paying part-time job advertisements posted on Telegram and were recruited by an international drug organization. The drug organization, which operates from overseas bases, instructed Mr. A and Mr. B to act as couriers by receiving drugs smuggled into Korea via international mail.

In January of this year, Seoul Customs detected a total of 666 grams of ketamine during an inspection of international mail from the Netherlands. They then conducted a controlled delivery operation and arrested Mr. A and Mr. B at different locations.

Controlled delivery is a drug investigation technique in which the authorities do not seize smuggled goods at the point of initial detection, but instead allow them to be distributed under surveillance and control, so that the final recipient can be apprehended at the last stage of distribution.

A similar case occurred in Busan last year. In May 2024, Busan Regional Customs apprehended Ms. C (26) as she attempted to smuggle 700 grams of high-concentration liquid cannabis from the United States via international mail, and referred her for detention and prosecution in June of the same year.

Investigations revealed that Ms. C also succumbed to the temptation of high-profit part-time work and was recruited by the head of a drug organization operating on Telegram, becoming involved in drug smuggling. It was found that the ringleader gave detailed instructions via Telegram, and payment was made through an unregistered virtual currency exchanger, making it difficult to trace.

Recently, there has been a growing number of cases in which people in their 20s are being recruited by drug organizations and exploited as "Droppers." The term "Dropper" refers to individuals at the lower levels of drug organizations who leave drugs at designated locations as instructed by their superiors, and are also called "people who drop off."

Typically, drug organizations lure young people with phrases such as "high-profit part-time job" and "same-day high payment." After approaching young people through social media advertisements, they recruit them and induce them to collect drugs smuggled into Korea from specific locations and transport them to other places.

As a result of these methods, drug crimes involving people in their 20s are rapidly increasing. For example, according to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Drug White Paper, people in their 20s accounted for 32.6% of all drug offenders caught last year, a higher proportion than those in their 30s (28.2%) or 40s (15.5%).

A Seoul Customs official stated, "There are increasing cases in which drug organizations approach young people who are familiar with the online environment, such as SNS, and entice them to participate in drug crimes with the bait of high monetary rewards (part-time job fees). High-paying part-time jobs that involve simple errands or delivery have a very high possibility of being related to drug crimes. Simply possessing or transporting drugs can result in a heavy prison sentence, so extreme caution is required."