"He Seemed Like a Baseball Superfan"... Drug Smuggling Ringleader Was a Former Pro Baseball Pitcher

Smuggled Narcotics Worth 100 Million Won Into Korea
Prosecutors Form Specialized Investigation Team to Track the Case

A former professional baseball pitcher has been caught and put on trial as the ringleader of a drug smuggling organization.

According to Yonhap News on February 2, the Violent Crime Investigation Division of the Busan District Prosecutors' Office announced that it had indicted two ringleaders of a drug smuggling organization, identified as Mr. A (33) and Mr. B (30), on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (Narcotics). Both have been taken into custody.

Mr. A, a former professional baseball pitcher, is accused of smuggling 1.9 kilograms of ketamine, a narcotic valued at approximately 100 million won, into Korea from Thailand on three occasions over one month starting in September last year, together with Mr. B, a program developer. Mr. A is also accused of using narcotics once at a club in Thailand recently.

Narcotics handover scene at Incheon International Airport. Busan District Prosecutors' Office

The two allegedly used the closed messenger application Telegram to anonymously instruct couriers, who purchased ketamine locally in Thailand and then smuggled it into Korea.

Prosecutors noted similarities in the methods used in Thailand-originating drug smuggling cases that occurred in Daejeon, Incheon, and Busan over the past two years. In response, they formed a specialized investigation team to pursue the case. In October last year, a courier was apprehended at Gimhae International Airport. Subsequent tracking of Telegram IP addresses, analysis of cryptocurrency wallet addresses, and dispatching a narcotics investigator to Thailand led to the arrest of Mr. A.

Based on statements from the couriers, who told prosecutors, "He seemed to be from South Chungcheong Province" and "He appeared to be an avid fan of a Daejeon-based professional baseball team," investigators identified Mr. A as a former professional baseball player. Mr. A and his associates attempted to evade law enforcement by concealing all related evidence, including mobile phones. They also targeted family travelers accompanied by young children, who are subject to relatively less scrutiny from customs, as couriers.

The prosecution plans to thoroughly dismantle the domestic distribution network, recover criminal proceeds, and focus on maintaining the indictment going forward.