S Korea-Thailand-drug

▲ This file photo taken July 6, 2023, shows a variety of drugs seized in recent police crackdowns. (Yonhap)

S Korea-Thailand-drug

S. Korea, Thailand seize illegal drugs enough for over 2 mln people

SEOUL, July 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's customs agency said Tuesday it has carried out a joint crackdown on drug smuggling with Thailand and confiscated 72 kilograms of illegal drugs, an amount enough to be used by 2.15 million people.

The Korea Customs Service (KCS) and its Thai counterpart conducted the operation from March through June and seized 47 kg of yaba, a combination of methamphetamine and caffeine, 12 kg of meth, and several other types of drugs by detecting 49 smuggling attempts.

The amount was nearly three times larger than that confiscated in their first joint crackdown carried out a year earlier, the KCS said.

Of the 49 cases, 25 were carried out through international mail, followed by express cargo with 20 cases and air travelers with four, the agency said.

Drug smuggling from Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries has spiked in recent years. The number of smugglers who came from such nations and were caught in South Korea has also risen.

The two nations held a meeting of officials in charge of drug smuggling and agreed to conduct joint clampdown operations on a regular basis, rather than temporary, special inspections.

They also decided to dispatch South Korean customs agency officials to the Thai authorities for enhanced cooperation.

During the first four months of this year, the customs agency had captured a record amount of drugs, 213 kg, which marked 32 percent on-year growth.

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