9,530 drug offenders arrested from January to August this year

Park Wang-yeol, known as the "drug lord," is extradited to South Korea through Incheon International Airport in March. [Yonhap]
Park Wang-yeol, known as the "drug lord," is extradited to South Korea through Incheon International Airport in March. [Yonhap]

Drug smuggling arrests have risen 33 percent this year compared to last year as police shift their focus toward dismantling drug supply networks.

The Korean National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters said Monday it had arrested a total of 9,530 drug offenders from January through last month. Arrests of smugglers and manufacturers rose 33 percent over the same period last year, arrests of dealers rose 6 percent, and arrests involving prescription drug offenses rose 11 percent.

Police said this year's crackdown has concentrated investigative resources on supply-side offenders rather than simple users.

As part of that effort, police extradited and detained Park Wang-yeol — known as the "Philippine drug lord" — earlier this year, while continuing to trace domestic and overseas supply networks. Park had been held in a Philippine prison on charges of killing three South Korean nationals there. He was extradited to South Korea in March after President Lee Jae Myung personally requested his provisional transfer at a South Korea-Philippines summit.

Two units that led high-profile investigations were recognized as top drug crime cases by the National Investigation Headquarters: the Gyeonggi Northern Provincial Police Agency's Organized Crime Investigation Unit, which investigated Park, and the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency's Drug Crime Investigation Unit, which investigated Choi Byeong-min, who is suspected of supplying drugs to Park. Each unit received a prize of 10 million won ($7,360).

Police said they plan to continue strengthening cooperation with related agencies — including the National Intelligence Service, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the Korea Customs Service, the National Tax Service and the Financial Services Commission — to improve criminal tracking.

Police also plan to expand cooperation with overseas investigative agencies. They will host the International Conference on Narcotics (ICON) on Nov. 11 and broaden cross-border collaboration through the Asian Narcotics Crime Response Alliance (ANCRA).

Hong Seok-gi, head of the National Investigation Headquarters, said the shifting criminal justice landscape "can serve as a turning point for each investigative agency to strengthen its expertise and improve collaborative frameworks." He added that police and related agencies would mount an all-out response, saying, "Now, as drug offenses continue to rise, is the golden hour for eradicating drug crime — and we are committed to acting on that."


arin@heraldcorp.com