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| The first son of Gyeonggi Province Governor Nam Kyung-pil arrives at Seoul Central District Court Sept. 19 for questioning about his alleged smuggling of four grams of ‘philopon' into Korea from China. / Korea Times file |
By Ko Dong-hwan
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| Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office staff with ‘philopon' found hidden in a container of instant rice. / Korea Times file |
The discovery of the illegal substance was just a small part of the 1.63 kilograms of methamphetamine smuggled from the Philippines into South Korea so far this year.
Southeast Asian countries were the source of a record amount of methamphetamine trafficked into South Korea, Incheon District Prosecutors' Office said Thursday. The announcement was based on the amount of illegal drugs seized between January and November.
The main source was the Philippines, where President Rodrigo Duterte has waged a brutal war against drug users and dealers. The next major source was Cambodia with 1.18 kilograms, Taiwan with one kilogram, China with 0.59 of a kilogram and Thailand with 0.37 of a kilogram.
A total of 3.18 kilograms of drugs have been smuggled into South Korea from Southeast Asia this year that could be used by about 160,000 local users.
As well as methamphetamine, the authorities also seized 1.05 kilograms of cannabis, 3,137 "yaba" and 476 ecstasy pills. Fifty-three people were charged.
Officials say the increasing number of migrant workers from Southeast Asia is behind the rise in illegal drugs. Online dealing between buyers in South Korea and sellers in Southeast Asia also contributed.
"With Incheon International Airport's second terminal expected to be completed next year, illegal drug smuggling via the airport is likely to rise," a prosecutors' office official said. "Modern detection equipment and an increase in the number of investigators will be mobilized to deal with this situation."
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