560,000 people’s worth of Philopon hidden in beverage cans… Arrest of foreign smugglers

A foreign man in his 40s was caught by customs authorities for trying to smuggle liquid methamphetamine, enough to administer to 560,000 people at the same time, in a beverage can.

The Incheon International Airport Customs Service announced on the 11th that it had detained and transferred Mr. A (41), a Turkic national, to the Incheon Regional Public Prosecution Office on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act.

Mr. A is accused of trying to smuggle 17kg worth of liquid Philopon into 34 finished coconut water products (cans) last September via international mail from China.

Previously, Chinese customs authorities discovered drugs in two international express mail shipments bound for Busan and then began a 'controlled delivery' with Incheon Airport customs to track down those involved.

The drugs discovered at the time were found to be enough for 560,000 people to take at the same time, and had a market value of approximately 4.25 billion won.

The drug trafficking organization used two studio apartments in Jung-gu and Yeonje-gu, Busan as collection locations and moved goods through quick service several times to avoid crackdowns.

Through a joint investigation with the Serious Crimes Investigation Office, Incheon International Airport Customs urgently arrested Mr. A, who was collecting mail, on the spot and searched and seized his residence.

An Incheon International Airport Customs official said, "The suspect was arrested through cooperation between the Korean and Chinese customs authorities and the Central Investigation Agency's joint investigation," and added, "We plan to further investigate his accomplices."