A man in his 20s who smuggled illegal drugs into the country, hiding them on his body even after witnessing his accomplice being caught by customs, has been sentenced to prison.

Incheon District Court Criminal Division 14 (Presiding Judge Sohn Seung-beom) announced on October 7 that it has sentenced A, a 23-year-old man indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes (pharma-related offenses), to 5 years in prison and ordered the forfeiture of 10 million won.

A was indicted on charges of smuggling in 100 grams of philopon (methamphetamine), with a wholesale value of 10 million won, through Incheon International Airport at 7:46 a.m. on March 2.

Investigations revealed that he brought the methamphetamine into the country by taping it underneath his groin, having received it from an individual sent by a drug smuggling ring.

It was also revealed that A shared evasion tactics for drug detection—which an accomplice arriving on the same flight had searched for using ChatGPT.

The accomplice, who was concealing ketamine at the time, was caught by customs officials and placed under emergency arrest, but A passed through the security checkpoint and delivered the smuggled methamphetamine to yet another accomplice.

A had previously been sentenced to 6 months in prison for fraud in September of last year.

The court explained, "Drug crimes carry a high risk of harming public health and social safety due to their hallucinogenic properties and strong addictiveness," adding, "In particular, drug importation crimes can lead to the spread of drugs and additional related crimes, making strict countermeasures necessary."

The court stated regarding the sentencing rationale, "Even after witnessing his accomplice being caught by customs, the defendant ultimately delivered the imported methamphetamine to another accomplice, and this appears to have been circulated into the market as is," concluding, "Severe punishment corresponding to the gravity of his crime is necessary."

(Photo: Yonhap News)