[theqoo] WHY ARE CANADIAN GANGS IN GANGWON-DO…? 1.22 MILLION DOSES OF C*CAINE FACTORY DISCOVERED

A group attempting to smuggle, manufacture, and distribute c*caine (CC)—disguised as construction plaster—linked to an international drug organization, has been brought to trial.

On the 22nd, the Incheon District Prosecutor’s Office’s Violent Crime Investigation Division announced the arrest and indictment of five individuals, including the ringleader, A (55, male), a Canadian national, on charges of drug-related offenses under the Special Act on the Punishment of Specific Crimes.

Additionally, B (34, male), the mastermind behind domestic manufacturing, is already facing trial for other crimes and has been additionally indicted. B’s girlfriend, C (28), who allegedly assisted in the CC production, has been indicted without detention for aiding and abetting under the Special Act on the Punishment of Specific Crimes. Interpol red notices have also been issued for four accomplices who have fled overseas.

A’s group is accused of smuggling liquid CC from Colombia to Busan Port between July 2020 and May 2021, then mixing it with raw materials such as hydrochloric acid to manufacture solid CC and distribute it.

The CC they produced amounted to about 61kg, with a retail value estimated at approximately 30 billion won, enough for 1.22 million people to consume.

A’s group set up a shell company in South Korea, pretending to import plaster for construction, and smuggled liquid cocaine into the country through ports such as Busan. Some of the CC was re-exported to Australia using a method known as “container-switching,” where they purchased construction materials, emptied the containers, and then transferred the liquid CC. The rest was moved to a warehouse located in Hoengseong, Gangwon Province.