Massive Cocaine Seized from Cargo Ship Entering Busan Port

A large quantity of cocaine, enough to be consumed simultaneously by 24 million people, was discovered on a foreign-flagged cargo ship that arrived at Busan Port. Customs and the prosecution have launched an investigation, considering the possibility of involvement by international drug organizations.

On the 12th, the Busan Customs Office announced, "We seized 720 kg of cocaine from a Maltese-flagged cargo ship (94,590 tons) that docked at Busan New Port around 11 a.m. on the 10th."

Based on a single dose of cocaine (0.03g), the seized amount is sufficient for 24 million people to use it at the same time.

Customs had received prior intelligence from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) indicating that a large quantity of drugs was on the ship and immediately began a search upon the vessel's arrival.

The drugs were found inside a container loaded on the ship. The vessel had departed from South America and arrived in Busan, and the ship's crew is currently under investigation.

Attempts to Smuggle Drugs into Domestic Ports on the Rise

As attempts to smuggle large quantities of drugs into domestic ports continue, concerns about port security are increasing.

In April, 2 tons of cocaine worth 1 trillion won were seized from a 32,000-ton bulk ship that entered Okgye Port in Gangneung, South Korea. The amount of cocaine discovered at that time could provide for 67 million simultaneous uses.

At Busan Port, 100 kg of cocaine was found in the seawater intake system of a South Korean cargo ship that had set sail from Brazil, passing through Hong Kong and Singapore, in January of last year. In April of the same year, 33 kg of cocaine was also seized from a cargo ship coming from the United States.

Most of these cases have shown that international drug trafficking organizations used a method known as the "parasite technique," where drugs are secretly hidden in the ship to be transported to a third country. After secretly loading the drugs onto the vessel, a "retrieval team" extracts them before reaching their destination.

As concerns grow that domestic ports can be used as transit points for drug smuggling, the Busan Customs has implemented a dedicated organization to analyze the type of cargo, departure and arrival locations, and transit points to selectively screen high-risk shipments.

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