▲ Notorious drug trafficker Park Wang-yeol (C) arrives at the Uijeongbu District Court in Uijeongbu, northeast of Seoul, on March 27, 2026. (Yonhap)

police-drug trafficker

Police refer notorious 'drug kingpin' to prosecution for trafficking over 10 bln won worth of drugs

UIJEONGBU, South Korea, April 3 (Yonhap) -- Police said Friday they have referred a notorious drug smuggler repatriated from the Philippines to the prosecution for allegedly trafficking over 10 billion won (US$6.6 million) worth of illegal drugs.

Park Wang-yeol, who arrived in his home country under police custody last week, is accused of smuggling, distributing and selling or attempting to sell 13.1 billion won worth of drugs in South Korea.

Police have discovered 17.7 kilograms of drugs that Park tried to distribute, including 12.7 kg of methamphetamine, between November 2019 and August 2024 in addition to suspected criminal earnings of 6.8 billion won.

Park, who was convicted in the Philippines for the murder of three South Koreans in 2016, is suspected of running his drug trafficking operation from behind bars using the messaging app Telegram.

Park allegedly used drug mules and international special cargo to smuggle in 12.3 kg of drugs from the Philippines, Mexico and Vietnam across six occasions.

He is suspected to have connected with buyers in South Korea via Telegram, with accomplices dropping drugs at designated locations in an effort to evade authorities.

Police have determined that Park's organization carried out cryptocurrency transactions worth 57.5 bitcoins (US$3.8 million). They are looking into other bitcoin transactions suspected to be linked to the organization.

Park returned to his home country in handcuffs on March 25 in a temporary repatriation under an extradition treaty between the two countries. He had been serving a 60-year prison sentence in the Philippines for the murders.

The Uijeongbu District Court granted a warrant for Park's formal arrest two days after his arrival.

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