Pre-dawn bust of drug mule in business class concludes capture of narcotics ring

On June 11, three investigative officers stormed an airplane after it landed at Incheon International Airport. In the business class cabin, they arrested a 22-year-old mule as he was entering Korea after 14 months on the lam in the Philippines.

Investigative officers from the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office apprehend a 22-year-old mule on a Korean Air flight at Incheon Airport on June 11. [SUPREME PROSECUTORS' OFFICE]

At 4:52 a.m. on June 11, three investigative officers stormed an airplane after it landed at Incheon International Airport.

In the business class cabin, they arrested a 22-year-old mule, identified by the pseudonym Cho Yeong-ha, as he was entering Korea after 14 months on the lam in the Philippines.

Cho's arrest concluded a 16-month effort to bring down a drug ring that had smuggled 23.2 billion won ($16.7 million) in drugs into Korea from Thailand.

A special investigation team for drug crimes at the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office said Tuesday that it indicted 11 suspects — including drug mules and a mastermind — on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes that governs offenses related to narcotics.

The suspects are accused of smuggling and circulating 6.8 kilograms (approximately 15 pounds) of drugs between Dec. 2022 and March last year, including methamphetamine and ketamine — enough for 226,000 people.

The investigation started when the prosecution team caught two drug mules who had 1.1 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in their underwear when they arrived at Gimhae International Airport in Busan in March last year.

The amount was enough for some 30,000 people.

Lee Hong-seok, a prosecutor in charge of the case, said the prosecution believed a larger group was behind the two drug traffickers because the amount seized was too large to be handled by two unemployed men. Lee also noted they departed from Thailand — a country known to be a major drug trafficking corridor.

Left: Two drug mules suspected of smuggling drugs into Korea take selfies while entering Thailand. Right: The drug ring's kingpin slides down a water slide at a villa in Thailand. [SUPREME PROSECUTORS' OFFICE]

Forensic analysis of the two mules’ mobile devices showed multiple photos of a man with gang tattoos and hundreds of correspondences related to drug smuggling.

Lee was then convinced that the drug smuggling was not simply the work of two men but of an organized gang.

Lee and investigators suspected the tattooed man could be the kingpin, so they interrogated the two mules. However, they denied the mastermind's existence.

Lee then reviewed the criminal records of the two mules and found the tattooed man among criminals who had committed similar offenses.

Lee said the faces in the photos from the forensic analysis and criminal records "were so alike.” The resemblance prompted Lee to seek assistance from the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, which assessed that the two faces were identical.

After the two mules were presented with the top prosecution's facial recognition assessment, they confessed to the mastermind's whereabouts — a luxury villa in Pattaya, Thailand.

Lee sought cooperation with Thailand’s Narcotics Control Board and Immigration Bureau. After a four-day undercover operation near the villa, local authorities apprehended the mastermind.

The kingpin was handed to Korean investigative officers, who put him on a Korean Air flight. “Korean jurisdiction takes effect on flag carriers,” said Yoon Guk-kwon, head prosecutor of the special investigation team.

The prosecution shared details of the drug smuggling, adding that the mastermind and the mules attended the same high school.

Besides the two mules caught at Gimhae International Airport, other former classmates also illicitly transported drugs. The kingpin’s ex-girlfriend also brought narcotics from Thailand to Korea.

The mules received three million won to 10 million won per delivery to Korea, depending on the amount of drugs.

They also spent time in a luxury resort in Thailand and ended their overseas retreats by smuggling narcotics. The mastermind taught them how to conceal drugs around one’s thighs and in underwear.

Prosecutor Lee Hong-seok explains the workings of a recently captured drug ring at a briefing room at the Busan District Prosecutors’ Office in Busan on Friday. [JOONGANG ILBO]

The top prosecution service awarded Lee the title of the best prosecutor for the first half of 2024 for bringing down an entire drug ring through international cooperation.

Lee credited the specialized drug investigators, saying their “knowledge helped capture every member of the drug ring.”

The prosecution service is putting effort into bolstering international cooperation to deter drug crimes.

The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office established an international cooperation center dubbed Asia-Pacific Information & Coordination for Combating Drug Crimes in 2012 to combat the drug trade in Southeast Asian countries.

Ten Southeast Asian nations — Thailand, Laos, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar and the Philippines — participate in the multinational joint effort. The center’s fifth workshop will be convened on Oct. 29.

The prosecution service is pushing a drive to dispatch more investigative officers overseas, where drugs usually come from, for swifter international cooperation.

“The prosecution will take stern actions against drug smugglers using all viable means, including DNA, video and imagery analysis,” said Yoon, stressing the agency’s strong will to combat drug crimes.

BY YANG SU-MIN, LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]