3 times as much meth as usual dose included in each beverage used in drug scam targeting students: police

Police investigating a drug scam targeting students have concluded that each beverage given to teenagers contained three times as much methamphetamine as a usual dose, an amount that could result in serious bodily damage, officials said Monday.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) recently requested Interpol red notices to repatriate two main suspects from China for investigation on charges connected to the distribution of drug-laced beverages to teenage students in Seoul’s southern Gangnam Ward on April 3.

The beverages were attached with false labels claiming they were intended to enhance memory and concentration.

The parents of at least seven students who received the drinks were later blackmailed with demands for money with threats to report their children to the police for drug charges.

The SMPA concluded one of the suspects, a 25-year-old Korean national surnamed Lee, organized the scam via a friend in South Korea, known by his surname Gil.

Upon an order from Lee, Gil procured 10 grams of methamphetamine in Incheon, west of Seoul, in late March, bought Chinese milk and produced about 100 bottles of drug-laced beverages at his home in Wonju, 87 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

Police presumed that given the amount of meth Gil bought, 0.1 gram of meth may have gone into each drink, equaling about 3.3 times the one serving of about 0.03 gram.

“When an underage person without prior drug experience takes that much, it can lead to acute poisoning … that could involve mental derangement, loss of memory, or serious bodily damage,” a police official noted.

The other suspect, a 39-year-old Chinese national surnamed Park, was accused of involvement in the inbound shipment of boxes, bottles and beverage labels used in the scam.

Lee and his crime ring then hired four part-time workers on the Internet and shipped the beverages to them via parcel services to distribute them in Seoul’s Daechi-dong, a district famous for its cluster of cram schools.

Police said no signs have been found that the part-timers were aware of the meth included in the drinks.

According to police findings, 18 of the drug-laced beverages were distributed. Nine people, including one parent, drank eight of the distributed drinks, while four other bottles were left unconsumed. Police were tracking down the remaining six bottles.

Those who drank the beverages vomited or suffered dizziness, and for one victim who drank a whole bottle, the symptoms continued for a week, according to the police.

Police also concluded a Chinese voice phishing scam ring likely masterminded the crime behind Lee with an intention to “increase criminal proceeds from voice phishing operations,” and were tracking down call centers and other locations connected with the latest drug scam.

On Monday, police also referred Gil to the prosecution for further investigation and potential indictment on charges, including drug management law violations, along with two other men accused of supplying meth to Gil and manipulating telephone numbers.