Customs Officials Arrested for Attempting to Sell Seized Wine Worth 500 Million Won

[Anchor] Is it true that customs officials were arrested for attempting to embezzle high-end wine they had seized?

[Reporter] Yes, it is a classic case of letting the fox guard the henhouse.

Two officials from the Seoul Customs Investigation Bureau, identified as A and B, are accused of receiving tens of millions of won in bribes in exchange for handing over seized smuggled wine to a black-market broker.

Responsible for gathering intelligence on smuggling and conducting investigations, they allegedly exploited a regulation that requires seized food and beverages to be destroyed rather than auctioned due to storage issues. They planned to swap the high-end seized wine with cheaper bottles—a method known as bottle-swapping—to sell the premium stock on the black market.

It is reported that they intended to sell 88 bottles of high-end wine, valued at approximately 500 million won.

However, the planned transaction effectively fell through as a significant portion of the seized wine had to be returned due to internal customs procedures, such as the expiration of the statute of limitations.

Despite this, the officials demanded an additional 40 million won from the broker without delivering a single bottle of wine.

The broker, harboring a grudge, reported them to the police, which ultimately led to the discovery of the crime.

The court has issued arrest warrants for the officials, and the police plan to refer the case to the prosecution following further investigation.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.