Man Behind 'Suwon Drug Zombie' Video Arrested... Denied Drug Use Until End

[Anchor]

The man in his 30s who was dubbed the "Suwon Drug Zombie" after a video showed him staggering down a street in broad daylight has ultimately been arrested. Despite denying drug use to the end even after drugs were found in his home, the court determined there was a risk of evidence destruction.

Reporter Im Jihyeon has the details.

[Reporter]

A police transport vehicle enters the courthouse.

The person undergoing a pre-trial suspect interrogation is a man in his 30s, identified as Mr. A, who appeared in the so-called "Suwon Drug Zombie" video three months ago.

On June 21, Mr. A was captured in a hunched and staggering posture near a bus stop in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, and the footage spread rapidly through social media under the title "Suwon Drug Zombie."

Police tracked down Mr. A, conducted a preliminary drug test, and urgently arrested him after he tested positive for methamphetamine.

However, contrary to expectations, a subsequent urine test came back negative, leading to Mr. A's release after just one day.

Through a subsequent search and seizure, police discovered packaged methamphetamine in Mr. A's residence. As hair analysis results also tested positive for narcotics, police applied for an arrest warrant.

Mr. A consistently claimed, "It is true that I took psychotropic medication prescribed by a psychiatrist, but I did not use or store methamphetamine."

However, police stated that additional investigations revealed circumstances indicating Mr. A illicitly traded medical narcotics through an acquaintance, Mr. B.

Police have also booked Mr. B as an accomplice for violating the Narcotics Control Act, and reportedly reiterated to the court today the necessity of detaining Mr. A, stating that he was lying.

The court issued the arrest warrant citing concerns over the destruction of evidence, and police plan to transfer Mr. A to the prosecution after further investigating the source of the drugs and the scale of his usage.

(Video Reporter: Jang Woon-seok, Video Editor: Jeong Yong-hwa, Design: Hwang Se-yeon)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.