▲ This photo provided by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency shows an alleged drug smuggler arrested at the Incheon Port International Passenger Terminal in the port city of Incheon, just west of Seoul, on Aug. 14, 2026, after being deported from China. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- A man suspected of smuggling illegal drugs into South Korea has been caught and repatriated to Seoul after being on the run for 18 years overseas, police said Friday.

The suspect, in his 60s, was deported last week after being detained by the local police in Dandong, China, in July for staying illegally in the country.

He had been moving between China and the Philippines since October 2008, when he was brought to the police's attention for alleged involvement in a drug case.

While on the run, the suspect recruited a local accomplice in the Philippines, who allegedly smuggled a combined 1.6 kilograms of methamphetamine, worth 5.3 billion won (US$3.83 million) and enough for approximately 53,000 doses, into South Korea via Incheon International Airport on three occasions between October 2015 and January 2016. The Filipino accomplice was arrested when he entered the South Korean airport in January 2016 and sentenced to a prison term.

The South Korean suspect was apprehended when he arrived at an Incheon seaport on Aug. 14 and was placed under formal arrest on Sunday on suspicion of orchestrating the 2015-2016 smuggling ring.

His case has been sent to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office.

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