Ringleader in His 40s Who Smuggled Drugs for 600,000 People from Thailand Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison

Court: "The amount of smuggled narcotics was extremely large"

A 40-year-old Korean ringleader who established a drug trafficking organization based in Thailand and smuggled a large quantity of narcotics into South Korea has been sentenced to a lengthy prison term.

According to Yonhap News on October 30, the Criminal Division 1 of the Yeongwol Branch of the Chuncheon District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Minhyung) sentenced Mr. A (41), who was indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (Narcotics), to 18 years in prison. The court also ordered Mr. A to forfeit 955 million won, which he conspired to obtain with accomplices.

Mr. A was charged with conspiring with members of a drug smuggling criminal organization he formed in Thailand to smuggle narcotics from Thailand to South Korea between November 2022 and July 2023. He was arrested in Thailand in November last year and was forcibly extradited through Incheon International Airport in April this year, after which he has been under investigation and trial in South Korea.

According to the indictment, the narcotics smuggled by Mr. A included approximately 17 kilograms of ketamine, about 1,100 ecstasy pills, and 300 grams of cocaine. In particular, the 17 kilograms of ketamine is enough for 600,000 people to use simultaneously, according to the investigation.

Mr. A, who oversaw the entire drug smuggling operation and led the criminal group, managed the passports of the organization members to prevent them from leaving the group at will, and required all communication to take place exclusively on Telegram to avoid law enforcement tracking, as revealed in the indictment.

During the trial, Mr. A admitted to organizing the criminal group and smuggling narcotics, but reportedly denied some of the drug smuggling charges, claiming he was also a victim in certain cases.

The court stated, "The accomplices in drug transportation testified that 'as soon as we arrived in Bangkok at Mr. A's suggestion, he took our passports on the first day,' which supports the defendant's charges." The court continued, "The amount of narcotics smuggled by the defendant was extremely large, and some were actually distributed domestically." The court added, "The defendant's crimes continued until he was arrested by Thai police. Although he cooperated with some drug investigations after being extradited to South Korea, the court considered that he committed organized and professional crimes and held the position of the ringleader in determining the sentence."