Top court confirms 6-yr prison term for US military worker in meth smuggling case
A U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, is seen in this photo taken April 1. Yonhap
The Supreme Court has confirmed a six-year prison term for a U.S. military employee in South Korea for smuggling nearly 7 kilograms of methamphetamine into the country via U.S. military mail, legal sources said Friday.
The top court recently upheld a lower court ruling against the U.S. citizen on charges of bringing in 6.8 kilograms of methamphetamine enough for 130,000 people to take simultaneously — into a U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek, about 60 kilometers south of Seoul, in August 2021.
The defendant, who also faced charges of possessing and taking cocaine in December 2021, was accused of colluding with an acquaintance in the United States for the scheme.
The court rejected the defendant's claims of only accepting a request to lend a U.S. military address and believing the packages contained powdered milk and baby products.