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Investigations by Korean prosecutors have revealed that crime syndicates like the Japanese yakuza and Hong Kong triads have begun directly smuggling drugs into Korea in order to make the country, which used to be regarded as a transit point for narcotics, a major drug market. It was also revealed that local crime organizations have begun full-scale involvement in the drug trade.
In relation to this, the Seoul District Public Prosecutors' Office disclosed Monday that in the past year, it arrested 37 members of 14 local and Japanese organized crime syndicates for drug-related offenses, detaining 24 and booking five people without detention.
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A scene from the movie, "Internal Affairs II," the prequel to the massive hit about a Hong Kong mafia syndicate and the cat-and-mouse game it plays with local police, each of whom has implanted molls in the other's organization.
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¡ß Involvement of international crime syndicates
A 61-year-old Chinese-American member of a Hong Kong triad, referred to as Mr. F, was recently sentenced to five years in prison after he was arrested on charges of having smuggled 662 grams of Philipon into Korea aboard an airliner from Hong Kong in February 2002. The narcotics had a steeet value of about W2 billion.
Prosecutors confirmed Mr. F's identity as they were investigating Korean-Chinese drug dealers, and stood him before a Korean judge after he was extradited from the United States in accordance with a bilateral extradition treaty.
Prosecutors believe Mr. F entered Korea with the help of local crime syndicates and was planning to sell Philipon domestically through Korean-Chinese drug dealers.
In addition, seven members of an ethnic-Korean gang from Los Angeles were recently sentenced to between 18 months and two years in prison after they were apprehended in the process of smuggling dozens of grams of Philipon into the country and selling it through Korean-Americans residing in Korea.
The second in the chain of criminal command, 52-year-old Mr. H, who ran a subordinate branch of the Japanese yakuza, was deported from Korea earlier this year after he was caught in November 2003 trying to bring a local Philipon manufacturing expert to Japan that he had come to recruit.
Having received an order from above to find the best manufacturing engineer available, Mr. H said he was going to recruit the Korean expert with a W100-million signing bonus.
"With China, the world's largest drug market, severely punishing drug offenses, international crime syndicates and their connected drug dealers are turning their attention to Korea and Japan," said a prosecutorial official.
¡ß Local groups also involved in drugs
Prosecutors said local crime organizations are building a new network by recruiting prison-yard Philipon dealers and getting them involved in drug sales after their release.
34-year-old Mr. Lee, a captain with the "Dongdaemun faction" crime gang, is wanted on charges of smuggling 500g of Philipon into Korea hidden in DVD players. Prosecutors said the members, including the heads, of nine criminal organizations nationwide have been sentenced to prison time for either illicitly selling or administering narcotics.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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