The number of people caught on drug-related charges has jumped more than 46 percent over the past year, following the launch of a pangovernmental unit to combat growing drug crimes in the country, officials said Thursday.
The special investigation unit, which comprises prosecutors, investigators, customs, food safety and other officials, said it caught a total of 28,527 drug offenders from April 2023 to March this year, up 46.7 percent from the 19,442 caught in 2022.
Of them, the number of teenage offenders increased by a whopping 234.9 percent from 463 in 2022 to 1,551 last year, while those caught for manufacturing, importing or trading the drugs also increased by 94.5 percent from 5,070 to 9,860 in the same period.
The amount of drugs confiscated rose slightly from 915.1 kilograms in 2022 to 939.1 kilograms last year.
A Supreme Prosecutors Office official said the increase is due to the crackdown with its focus on drug suppliers and particularly on the online distribution of illegal drugs, which has a
high probability of going unnoticed.
The special unit also expanded its cooperation with major drug-producing countries, including Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, and with the U.S. federal agency in charge of combating illicit drug trafficking for the past year.
The team strengthened monitoring of travelers, cargo ships and planes entering the country, and beefed up online monitoring of the dark web.
Source: Yonhap News Agency