Cold Medicine Poured Out of Empty Apartment... The Shocking Twist Behind It

[Anchor]

A ring that manufactured methamphetamine—enough for 40,000 people to use—using cold medicine has been caught. A herbalist who sold them the cold medicine was also part of the scheme.

This report is by Jeong Jiyeon.

[Reporter]

An apartment complex left vacant due to a lien dispute.

Upon entering the home, gas masks and flasks are scattered everywhere, and a room is piled high with bags filled with medicine bottles.

They are cold medicines easily obtainable on the market.

[Police: It smells here. This is it, right here.]

Five suspects, including a ringleader identified as A, were caught by the police after manufacturing large quantities of methamphetamine at the apartment from April of last year to June of last year.

[Hwang In-gi, Chief of Narcotics Investigation Unit 2, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency: (The gang) monitored and managed outsiders' access using CCTV and parking barriers.]

The methamphetamine seized by the police alone amounted to 1.36 kg, worth 4.2 billion won on the street.

It was enough for 40,000 people to use simultaneously, and it turned out to have been manufactured using regular cold medicine.

These are cold medicines purchased directly from pharmacies.

They contain the ingredient pseudoephedrine, which relieves nasal congestion, and this was extracted and used to manufacture methamphetamine.

It was revealed that they even referred to overseas academic papers, scientific experiment videos, and verdicts of similar crimes to manufacture methamphetamine using cold medicine.

The main ingredient, cold medicine, was provided by a herbalist. This herbalist sold a whopping 10,000-some bottles, or about 630,000 tablets, of cold medicine to them, knowing that it would be used to manufacture methamphetamine.

The police apprehended 13 members of the ring, including the drug manufacturing offenders and the herbalist, and detained four of them, including ringleader A, before forwarding them to the prosecution.

The police also stated that they made an official request to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to designate cold medicines containing the ingredient as prescription-only drugs to prevent them from being easily exploited for crimes.

(Video by Yang Ji-hoon | Video Editing by Lee So-young | Footage provided by Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.