drug suspect-repatriation

SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Yonhap) -- A man in his 80s, suspected of transporting more than 5 tons of narcotics aboard a fishing vessel in waters off South America in the early 2000s, has been repatriated to South Korea after spending 22 years on the run, police said Monday.

The Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) said the man, whose identity was withheld, was brought back home on Oct. 20 in coordination with the Busan Coast Guard after being deported by authorities in Ghana, where he had been hiding for about 22 years.

The man is accused of transporting narcotics on behalf of a drug trafficking organization on five separate occasions in international waters off South America between 2002 and 2004, when he was serving as a supervisor of a deep-sea fishing vessel, and receiving payment for the shipments.

The KNPA said the transported narcotics are believed to have been 5,385 kilograms of cocaine worth about 4.8 trillion won (US$3.6 billion). The suspect fled to Ghana after his accomplices were arrested and lived there as an undocumented immigrant from around 2004.

His repatriation came after the Busan Coast Guard placed him on Interpol's wanted list and the KNPA confirmed his whereabouts through information sharing with the Ghanaian police.

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