'Korea no longer safe from cocaine,' police warn after liquid drug bust

Police captured three drug traffickers who smuggled liquid drugs worth 180 billion won ($135 million) and processed them into solid form for distribution.

Police seized all 60 kilograms of cocaine during a raid on a 55-year-old drug dealer's residence. The drug dealer is accused of smuggling liquid cocaine worth 180 billion won through a container cargo ship from overseas. [NEWS1]

Police captured three drug traffickers who smuggled liquid drugs worth 180 billion won ($135 million) and processed them into solid form for distribution.

Korea Coast Guard’s drug investigation team said Monday that three people, including a 55-year-old Canadian drug ring member and a 27-year-old local drug seller, were arrested for allegedly violating the Narcotics Control Act.

The 55-year-old drug dealer is accused of smuggling liquid cocaine worth 180 billion won through a container cargo ship from overseas. The amount of cocaine smuggled was enough for 2 million people.

The smuggled drug was then processed into solid form at a factory in Gangwon, according to police. Two Colombian drug ring members are suspected of converting the drugs into solid form.

Authorities also determined that the 55-year-old trafficker is a high-ranking member of a Canadian drug ring with a prior record of smuggling cocaine via cargo ships from the United States.

In early August, police received intelligence about the Canadian drug ring from the National Intelligence Service and launched an investigation.

On Aug. 10, undercover police arrested the 27-year-old drug distributor without a warrant near Banpo Hangang Park in Seocho District, southern Seoul, after witnessing the distributor selling cocaine.

The 55-year-old drug dealer was subsequently apprehended in Gimpo, Gyeonggi. During a raid on the dealer’s residence, police seized 60 kilograms of cocaine, with packaging marked "UN," indicating ties to a drug cartel in Vancouver, Canada.

Police said this case is the first instance of smuggled cocaine being processed domestically and distributed in the country. It's also the largest seizure of cocaine by a local investigation team during the distribution phase, excluding cases intercepted before distribution.

Authorities plan to conduct a digital forensic analysis of the 55-year-old's phone and further investigate the details of the smuggling operation, including the timeline of the drugs' transport via cargo ship and the methods used for cocaine processing.

“Korea is no longer safe from cocaine,” said So Byung-ho, head of the investigation team, adding that the probe into the connection between the Canadian drug cartel and local networks is ongoing.

BY WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]