"I'm an IMF Employee": What Was Found Inside a 70-Year-Old's Bag

▲ Busan District Court

A man in his 70s from Taiwan has been sentenced to a heavy prison term after entering South Korea through Gimhae International Airport with a suitcase containing 5.1 kilograms of methamphetamine from Cambodia.

The Busan District Court's Criminal Panel 5 (Presiding Judge Kim Hyun-soon) announced that it has sentenced the 70-year-old Taiwanese national, identified as A, to six years in prison on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes.

A was put on trial for receiving a travel suitcase containing three backpacks concealing methamphetamine in front of a hotel in Cambodia on March 22 of this year, and bringing them into the country.

The methamphetamine found inside the backpacks weighed a total of 5.1 kilograms, with an estimated market value of 511.3 million won.

A checked in the suitcase as baggage at Siem Reap International Airport in Cambodia, transited through Hanoi, Vietnam, and arrived at Gimhae International Airport the following morning.

During the trial, A claimed that he did not know he was transporting methamphetamine.

He argued that a Briton he met through an acquaintance introduced himself as an employee of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and offered him 1 million dollars if he performed a task to deliver items for money laundering, leading him to believe the suitcase contained "security tokens."

However, the court ruled that A was at least conditionally aware of the possibility that drugs were inside the bag.

The court stated, "The defendant testified during the investigative agency proceedings and in court to the effect that 'I suspected that what was inside the carrier might be drugs and asked the Briton,' and 'I have seen news reports stating that one must be careful because drugs might be inside if an unfamiliar person asks you to move a bag,'" adding, "It appears he was aware that illicit drugs could be inside the travel suitcase."

Explaining the sentencing rationale, the court stated, "Drug importation crimes carry a high potential for the domestic spread and distribution of narcotics and subsequent additional crimes, necessitating a strict response," and noted, "The amount of methamphetamine brought in by the defendant is considerable, and the defendant denies the crime and shows no remorse."

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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