International student gets 9-year sentence for ketamine smuggling attempt

Ketamin [YONHAP] A non-Korean national in their 20s studying in Korea has been sentenced to nine years in prison for attempting to smuggle drugs worth 13 million won ($9,260) via international courier service, according to local reports on Wednesday. The Busan District Court convicted the student, a Vietnamese national, of violating the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, labeling it as " a serious crime that creates or facilitates the supply and demand for narcotics, ultimately causing grave and irreparable harm to public health and social order." Related ArticleNigerian drug cartel busted for smuggling methamphetamine into KoreaDrug smuggling attempts to Korea up 24 percent in first 9 monthsYG Entertainment chief indicted for smuggling luxury watches The Vietnamese student is charged with smuggling 205 grams of ketamine, worth 13 million won, in April via an international courier sent by an accomplice in Vietnam. The accomplice concealed the drugs by portioning them into 20 small plastic bags and hiding them inside instant ramen packaging. These packages were then placed along with snacks and noodles in a paper box and shipped to an address in Dong District, Daejeon. The smuggling activities were uncovered when police arrested the student on the rooftop of a building in Dong District on April 4, while the student was selling 9 milliliters of a new drug to another individual for 150,000 won. Authorities had received intelligence regarding the transaction. Upon the arrest, police seized the Vietnamese student’s cell phone and discovered that the student was monitoring the tracking page of an international courier. By tracing the package, law enforcement uncovered ketamine inside a shipment that had arrived at Incheon International Airport. In court, the student denied ownership of the confiscated cell phone and claimed the police had conducted an illegal search and seizure. He also denied any involvement in smuggling ketamine. The court, however, ruled that even if the police’s search and seizure procedures had been improper, any procedural infractions that might have occurred were not so egregious as to invalidate the evidence and concluded that the student took part in smuggling drugs based on the seized cell phone. The court also condemned the student for a lack of remorse, noting that the student “initially denied owning the cell phone, claimed the investigation was illegal, and made unconvincing excuses in court,” making strict punishment inevitable. BY WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]