Ketamine disguised as Chinese tea bags found on Jeju beaches
A package disguised as Chinese tea found Tuesday on a Jeju beach marks the ninth such discovery this year, with the previous eight confirmed as ketamine. Courtesy of Jeju Coast Guard
Authorities on Jeju Island are on alert after multiple packages of ketamine disguised as Chinese tea bags were discovered washed up along the island’s coastline, prompting fears of drug trafficking and damage to the island’s image as a major tourist destination.
According to the Korea Coast Guard on Wednesday, the first discovery occurred on Sept. 29 when a coastal cleanup volunteer at Gwangchigi Beach in Seogwipo, one of Jeju’s popular tourist spots, found 20 kilograms of ketamine inside a plastic bag mixed with marine debris. Over the following 40 days, similar packages were found 10 more times at various beaches across the island.
Each package contained 1 kilogram of the drug, tightly sealed in plastic bags labeled as oolong and other Chinese teas. The total amount collected so far is 29 kilograms — equivalent to about 970,000 doses based on a single-use amount of 0.03 grams.
The street value is estimated at 87 billion won ($64 million), with each kilogram worth roughly 3 billion won. Ketamine is a hallucinogenic anesthetic that can cause delusions and auditory hallucinations.
Authorities have yet to determine how the drugs arrived on Jeju’s shores. Investigators are exploring possibilities including illegal sea-based drug transactions, discarded contraband during police chases, or accidental losses from maritime smuggling operations.
A police drug-sniffing dog searches for narcotics along northern Jeju beaches, Tuesday. Newsis
“Since the areas where drugs were found overlap with regions where marine waste tends to collect, we believe the packages floated to Jeju’s northern coast via ocean currents,” said Kim Young-beom, head of the narcotics division at the Jeju Coast Guard. “Given that similar packages were found in Pohang and Japan’s Tsushima Island, it is likely they drifted in from overseas.”
He added that DNA testing and other forensic analyses are underway, but “no significant clues have been found so far.” Authorities are cooperating with domestic and international agencies to track the source.
Residents have voiced anxiety that some of the drugs could have been picked up by civilians before authorities arrived.
“It’s worrying that it took more than a month after the first discovery for a full-scale search to begin,” said a 49-year-old resident surnamed Park. “If Jeju becomes known as a ‘drug hub,’ it will seriously hurt our tourism reputation.”
In response, more than 800 personnel — including members of the Coast Guard, local police, the Marine Corps, the National Intelligence Service and volunteer coastal cleanup teams — conducted a joint islandwide search operation on Wednesday.
Police narcotics dogs were deployed along northern coastal areas, including Jeju City’s Iho-dong area, to search for additional drug packages. One kilogram of suspected ketamine wrapped in a green tea bag was found near a rocky shore on Udo Island.
Police said they are also monitoring whether similar ketamine packages have circulated within Jeju. “We’re focusing our investigation on preventing these drugs from being distributed or used in other crimes,” said Kang Gwi-bong, head of the violent crimes unit at the Jeju Provincial Police Agency.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.