Drug traffickers caught smuggling ketamine, ecstasy for 1.2 million doses into Korea

Seized ketamine and ecstasy are shown as the Gwangjin Police Station in Seoul announces the arrest of foreign syndicate members who smuggle and distribute narcotics in Korea. Courtesy of Gwangjin Police Station

Police have arrested two foreign nationals for smuggling and distributing enough narcotics, including ketamine and ecstasy, to supply 1.2 million doses.

According to the Gwangjin Police Station in Seoul on Thursday, a German man and a Polish man, both in their 20s and identified only as A and B, were arrested late last month on suspicion of violating the Narcotics Control Act.

The two are believed to be members of an international drug syndicate that smuggled and distributed drugs in Korea.

Acting on instructions from their suppliers in Germany, the suspects entered Korea via Gimhae and Incheon airports. The syndicate had concealed the drugs inside decorative ceramic sculptures and shipped them by international courier, which A and B retrieved upon arrival.

The pair repackaged the drugs at a residence in the southeastern city of Ulsan before distributing them through contactless “throw-off” transactions in cities including Pohang and Seongnam.

Police launched an investigation after receiving intelligence that foreign nationals were trafficking drugs via Telegram.

One man was arrested at an officetel in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, while the other was caught in Ulsan. Authorities seized approximately 52 kilograms of ketamine and around 70,000 ecstasy pills during the operation — a haul valued at around 12 billion won ($8.9 million).

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.