Authorities move fast to combat drug crimes targeting high school students
Two people hold drinks laced with drugs to hand them over to students in Seoul, Monday, in this surveillance camera image. Courtesy of Gangnam Police Station
By Jun Ji-hye
Education and law enforcement authorities are moving fast to develop countermeasures to cope with drug-related crimes targeting students. This follows a recent incident involving a ring of four individuals who allegedly distributed beverages laced with drugs to random high school students in Seoul.
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Friday that it will bring forward drug education schedules for students to the spring semester from autumn and carry out separate education sessions for teachers and parents between May and July.
The office has also sought cooperation with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and the Korean Association Against Drug Abuse which deals with drug addiction and the rehabilitation of students.
The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Justice have been working together to draw up countermeasures, as the increasing exposure of teenagers to illicit drug trafficking and use due partly to instant messaging platforms, including Telegram, has become a major concern in the country.
A drink containing methamphetamine, which was handed out to random students in Seoul, Monday / Courtesy of Gangnam Police Station
On Monday, the four individuals allegedly handed over beverages laced with drugs to high school students in areas near Gangnam-gu Office Station and Daechi Station that are lined with renowned cram schools.
According to the police investigation, the four allegedly offered the beverages for free claiming it was a “tasting event” and tricked students into believing that such beverages were helpful for improving memory and concentration.
After asking the students for their parents' contact information, the four allegedly blackmailed the parents and demanded money, claiming otherwise they will report the students to the police for drug use.
The police investigation revealed that the beverages contained methamphetamine.
The police caught the last suspect in Daegu, 237 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Thursday night and are expanding their investigation based on the belief that there could have been a mastermind in the case.
On Saturday, the police confirmed that the empty beverage bottles were sourced from China and the origin of threatening phone calls to the parents of students who drank the beverages was also determined to be China.
Police plan to identify the suspects and obtain arrest warrants in cooperation with China's investigation, while requesting an Interpol red notice.
The shocking event led President Yoon Suk Yeol to order the police and the prosecution to mobilize all investigative capabilities to root out drug-related crimes targeting teenagers and retrieve criminal proceeds.
The police said the relevant authorities are taking the latest case as a serious crime, as the suspects gave out the drug-laced beverages to random students and blackmailed their families.
“We will focus our efforts on carrying out publicity activities to prevent similar crimes,” a Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency official said.
The police agency has decided to notify 1,407 schools and some 830,000 parents in Seoul of the latest case to raise the alarm about drug-related crimes targeting students.
The police are also planning to strengthen patrol from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Mok-dong of Yangcheon District, Junggye-dong of Nowon District and Chang-dong of Dobong District that are lined with private tutoring academies, in addition to Daechi-dong of Gangnam District where the latest incident occurred.