Police nab 77 drug criminals, including Chinese drug gang

Police apprehended 77 suspected drug offenders over the last five months, including gangsters involved in a spiked drink blackmail scheme in Seoul's Gangnam area.

Police nab a Chinese national accused of drug dealing on April 4. The suspect is believed to have distributed drugs used to produce drug-laced drinks handed out to students in a cram school zone in Daechi-dong, southern Seoul, in April. [GYEONGGI NAMBU PROVINCIAL POLICE]

Police apprehended 77 suspected drug offenders over the last five months, including gangsters involved in a spiked drink blackmail scheme in Seoul's Gangnam area.

Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police said Wednesday that they detained 25 of the suspects for violating the Narcotics Control Act, as well as for involvement in a criminal organization.

The Suwon Jungbu Police Precinct said the 77 suspects were mostly unemployed and in different age groups, from teenagers to individuals in their 60s.

This includes a 36-year-old Chinese national arrested for distributing 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds) of methamphetamine in the greater Seoul area.

Police say the suspect received the methamphetamine hidden in a piece of luggage in Asan, South Chungcheong from a dealer working for a drug trafficking gang in China in March.

He distributed the drugs through the so-called "throwing method," where drugs are dropped at a designated area and buyers pick them up. The dealers communicated via mobile messenger apps.

Police said five Chinese nationals, including the 36-year-old, assumed different roles in the operation, including sales and delivery.

They are also suspected of renting a residence in which to store the drugs.

Some of the drugs were used to produce drug-laced drinks passed on to students in a cram school neighborhood in the Gangnam area of southern Seoul in April. Drugs used to produce the drinks were delivered on March 25, police said.

Police nabbed the 36-year-old in April as the scheme surfaced after four part-time workers were busted for distributing the drinks to passing cram school students on April 3.

Students were told the drugged drinks, labeled "Mega ADHD," could boost concentration and memory.

The suspects are also accused of blackmailing the parents of the drugged students.

A 50-year-old drug suspect delivers drugs wrapped in a black plastic bag to another suspect in the streets in Seoul.[GYEONGGI NAMBU PROVINCIAL POLICE]

Another 50-year-old Chinese national delivered around one kilogram of methamphetamine wrapped in a black plastic bag to another dealer.

Police seized some 1.65 kilograms of meth and 57 million won ($44,000) in drug money. They also confiscated around 100 million won in criminal proceeds, including imported luxury cars.

Many of the suspects are believed to be related to or acquaintances of Chinese nationals who were deported to China after committing drug crimes in Korea.

The deported criminals have kept business going by sending their acquaintances to Korea, police said.

Police have requested an arrest warrant and are tracking the whereabouts of the suspected kingpin in China.

“We will continue tracking and confiscating criminal proceeds for gang-related drug crimes through thorough investigations,” a police official said.

“We will strictly crackdown on [drug crimes] with all available resources.”

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]