By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
International mail, parcel and express cargo services are emerging as the most sought-after routes for drug trafficking here.
According to Incheon Airport Customs Tuesday, customs officers detected 69 cases of drug smuggling using international mail or parcel services and six using express cargo service in the first seven months of the year, accounting for 87.2 percent of all drug smuggling cases detected over the period.
Customs foiled 86 drug smuggling attempts between January and July, confiscating 16.6 kilograms of hallucinatory substances worth 5.1 billion won ($5 million), up 18 percent in weight from a year before.
International mail and parcel services are run by government or state-backed firms, while express cargo services are mainly offered by private transportation service providers such as DHL and Fedex.
``Such delivery services are available even without disclosing real names or ID numbers as long as there are names and addresses. It seems to be a major reason for the steep increase of drug trafficking through these services,'' Lee Seung-kyu, a Incheon Airport Customs officer, told The Korea Times.
The number of attempts to smuggle in methamphetamine through international mail and parcel services dropped 14 percent from last year, while the volume detected increased 66 percent.
Marijuana consumption, once rampant at nightclubs and foreign communities here, is likely to lose its popularity. Authorities caught 37 cases of the smuggling between January and July, up from 32 a year earlier, but the seized quantity dropped 82 percent.
The customs office said China's intensified inspection of substances in international courier services contributed to the decrease in the smuggling.
Chinese authorities launched a full-scale investigation into drug trafficking ahead of the Beijing Olympics. In addition, Incheon Airport Customs has also instituted a tougher crackdown on smuggling. The office will team up with prosecution, police and the National Intelligence Service to counter drug trafficking.