It has been found that drug crimes are rapidly spreading around clubs and entertainment establishments.
The Criminal Bureau of the National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency conducted a special crackdown on drug crimes for five months from August to December last year.
As a result, 5,702 people who distributed or administered drugs were arrested, and 791 of them were arrested today (29th).
In particular, there were many cases where people were caught doing drugs in clubs or entertainment establishments.
A total of 377 drug offenders in clubs and entertainment establishments caught in this crackdown, an 11-fold increase compared to the same period in 2021 (33).
In October of last year, 40 foreigners were caught by the police in South Gyeongsang Province for smuggling drugs disguised as chocolate through international mail and then selling or administering drugs at clubs exclusively for foreigners.
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An official from the National Police Agency explained, "We have confirmed a new type of crime in which drugs are administered while partying in a party room."
Online non-face-to-face drug transactions have also increased significantly.
A total of 1,495 Internet drug offenders were caught in this crackdown, an increase of 39.5% compared to the same period in 2021 (1,072).
Of these, 533 are drug dealers using the dark web or virtual assets, and this is also found to have increased by 19% compared to 2021 (448).
It turns out that the number of teenage drug offenders is also on the rise every year.
Last year alone, 294 teenage drug offenders were arrested.
There was also a case where a high school student participated in the distribution of methamphetamine.
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In Incheon, three high school seniors were recently arrested for distributing methamphetamine through Telegram.
The number of foreign drug offenders caught during this crackdown was 866, accounting for 15.2% of the total.
It is known that local people gathered together and jointly administered the drug in areas where foreigners were concentrated, such as around the industrial complex.
According to the National Police Agency, the number of drug offenders arrested last year recorded a record high of 12,387, a 16.6% increase from the previous year (10,626).
The police plan to focus on strengthening their investigative expertise to respond to rapidly increasing drug crimes.
The Dark Web and Virtual Asset Investigation Team is also planned to be expanded to the nationwide metropolitan and provincial police agencies.
In addition, it was announced that experts in the field of information technology would be hired as cyber drug investigators and used as investigative personnel specializing in tracking down internet drug crimes.
An official from the National Police Agency said, "To eradicate drug crimes, we will actively promote the enactment and revision of related laws and system improvements in cooperation with related agencies."