Korea busts record 1 ton of smuggled drugs in 1st half of 2026

Korean customs authorities seized a record 1,007 kilograms of narcotics intended for the domestic market in 767 cases during the first half of the year, the Korea Customs Service (KCS) said Wednesday. The haul was equivalent to about 33.58 million doses, based on a 0.03-gram dose. While the number of cases rose 24 percent from a year earlier, the total weight fell 62 percent because last year’s figures included drugs merely transiting through Korea. Excluding those transit shipments, this year’s haul was the largest on record for drugs destined for the domestic market. KCS Commissioner Lee Jong-wook said during a media briefing that the increase was driven by traveler smuggling, vowing to step up inspections of arriving passengers by expanding a multilayer screening system, including random inspections immediately after arrival and X-ray screening of all checked baggage. The number of traveler smuggling cases jumped 79 percent, while the amount seized rose 23 percent from a year earlier. By contrast, seizures through international mail dropped sharply after customs strengthened secondary

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