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South Korean authorities are persistently battling against drug trafficking fueled by cryptocurrency, with law enforcement in the capital city of Seoul making 452 arrests from June 2022 until December 2023.
According to the media outlet Money Today, police apprehended three alleged drug traffickers. Additionally, 445 buyers and four operators of illegal “cryptoasset trading platforms” were also charged.
South Korean Police Face Challenges in Combatting Crypto-Related Drug Crimes?
Authorities released statistics indicating that their investigations have been ongoing since 2018 and continue into late 2023.
The country is grappling with what politicians have termed an “epidemic” of drug trading among youth, facilitated by cryptocurrencies.
Law enforcement reported that 90% of those arrested were aged between 20 and 39, with five teenagers also being charged.
Police units across the nation have previously conducted arrests related to drug trafficking involving cryptocurrencies.
However, this marks the first occasion that officials have successfully dismantled a suspected illegal crypto exchange operated by drug-related gangs.
A police representative noted that 146 of the arrested individuals had previous criminal histories. The representative also mentioned that the majority (60%) of the transactions involved marijuana.
More than 23% of the exchanges were related to methamphetamine (commonly referred to as crystal meth). Other transactions included substances such as ecstasy (MDMA), synthetic marijuana, and ketamine.
The teenage suspects reportedly informed police that they found dealers through social media broadcasts and online postings.
Cryptonews.com observed numerous Korean-language advertisements for drug dealers claiming to offer “nationwide delivery” of narcotics on X (Twitter) and Telegram channels.
Authorities released photographs of some of the items confiscated during their operations.
Narcotics confiscated by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. (Source: Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency)
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Police Credit Crypto Monitoring Tools for Successful Arrests
Nam Sung-shin, the head of the First Drug Crime Investigation Department at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, updated journalists on the arrests on February 28.
Nam elaborated that law enforcement utilized crypto and blockchain surveillance tools to pinpoint suspects.
The department chief stated that tracing the “cryptoassets sent to the sellers’ wallet addresses” has proven effective.
These methods allowed officers to locate suspects and “apprehend them in significant numbers.” Nam remarked:
“Many individuals believe that using the dark web or specific chat applications or social media platforms will ensure their anonymity. They assume that law enforcement will be unable to track them down. However, investigative personnel with considerable experience are consistently vigilant for drug offenders.”
South Korean police reported that they charged the four alleged “operators of the virtual asset trading agency” for violating the Specific Financial Information Act.
This act mandates that all crypto exchanges and wallet operators secure operating licenses from the regulatory Financial Intelligence Unit.
So far, only five domestic crypto exchanges, all part of an association known as DAXA, have obtained the necessary permits to facilitate KRW-crypto trading.
South Korean firms that have not experienced growth for an extended period risk being delisted from the stock exchange, warns the nation’s financial regulator https://t.co/sIea8ELh2S
— Bloomberg (@business) February 28, 2024
Last year, these exchanges collaborated with regulators to address concerns regarding “unlicensed” and “unregistered” crypto trading platforms.
Police in the city of Daegu announced in November 2023 that they had raided a “drug trafficking organization” that utilized crypto as a payment method. Authorities reported the arrest of 48 individuals during these operations.
The city’s police agency’s metropolitan investigation unit stated that 44 members of the group were linked to a suspected “overseas narcotics sales organization.”
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