"Why Cough Medicine?" Teens Caught in 'Hallucination Games' at Home... Trapped by Narcotic Drugs

Three individuals in their teens and twenties were caught by customs authorities for smuggling and consuming narcotic drugs. These individuals shared methods for smuggling and consuming narcotic drugs, as well as traded the drugs, in private group chats on social networking services (SNS).

The Busan Regional Customs Office of the Korea Customs Service announced on September 2 that it had apprehended and referred without detention three suspects for violating the Narcotics Control Act: Mr. A (23), Ms. B (22), and Ms. C (17).

People in their teens and twenties who were active in a private group chat on social media related to "Odi" are holding offline meetings. At this gathering, attendees shared methods of smuggling narcotic drugs and were found to have actually consumed narcotic drugs along with alcohol. Provided by Busan Regional Customs Office, Korea Customs Service

The Busan Customs Office investigated a smuggling case in which narcotic drugs were concealed in international mail from Japan and arrested Mr. A, a university student in Busan.

Mr. A is suspected of purchasing a total of 2,188 tablets of narcotic drugs, including cough medicine containing codeine and dextromethorphan, from the United States and Japan via overseas direct purchase, and smuggling them into Korea on 17 separate occasions. The purpose was so-called "Over Dose (Odi)"-consuming excessive amounts of narcotic drugs for hallucinogenic effects.

In particular, Mr. A consumed up to 100 tablets of narcotic drugs at a time to maximize the hallucinogenic effects, and showed severe signs of addiction, as evidenced by the fact that he placed another order for narcotic drugs on the same day he was released home after a customs investigation.

It was also confirmed that Mr. A shared methods for smuggling narcotic drugs and maximizing hallucinogenic effects with peers in their teens and twenties through private SNS group chats related to "Odi." Additionally, leftover drugs after consumption were sold on SNS.

Based on Mr. A’s statements and forensic analysis of his mobile phone, customs authorities also identified Ms. B and Ms. C. It was confirmed that both Ms. B and Ms. C obtained information from private SNS group chats related to "Odi," smuggled narcotic drugs, and consumed them.

Checklist created for managing members of the Odi (OD) community. Provided by the Busan Regional Customs Office of the Korea Customs Service.

Ms. B smuggled a total of 1,688 tablets of narcotic drugs on 11 separate occasions and continued her smuggling activities even after learning that Mr. A had been apprehended by customs. According to Busan Customs, Ms. B could not easily escape her addiction, as she moved to another private chat room to continue her activities after being questioned by customs for the first time.

Ms. C, a high school student, was caught smuggling multiple types of narcotic drugs while participating in the same "Odi"-related SNS group chat where Ms. B was mainly active. It was confirmed that Ms. C first encountered the "Odi" community when she was in middle school.

The group chat rooms in which Mr. A and others were active limited the number of participants to maintain anonymity and exclusivity, and managed members using an "Odi Addiction Checklist."

They also shared methods on SNS for maximizing hallucinogenic effects, such as snorting powdered narcotic drugs or mixing them with regular medicine and food. In addition, they reportedly held "hallucination parties" where they met offline to excessively consume narcotic drugs with alcohol.

A Busan Customs official warned, "With the rise of overseas direct purchases and SNS, information about narcotic drugs is easily shared among teenagers and people in their twenties, and the age at which individuals are exposed to narcotics is steadily decreasing." The official also cautioned, "What may begin as simple curiosity with 'hallucination games' can lead to serious narcotics addiction and ultimately result in criminal prosecution."