1 Billion Won in Drug Money 'Laundered' with Virtual Assets... 40 People, Including Agents, Apprehended

1 Billion Won in Drug Money 'Laundered' with Virtual Assets... 40 People, Including Agents, Apprehended

Forty people, including operators of agencies that laundered drug transaction proceeds into virtual assets and drug offenders, have been caught by the police.

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 14th that it has sent six operators of virtual asset transaction agencies, including Mr. A, to the prosecution without detention on charges of violating the Act on Reporting and Using Specific Financial Transaction Information, among others.

Mr. A and others are suspected of laundering 1 billion won in cash, sent by 32 drug purchasers from September last year to April this year, into virtual assets such as Bitcoin and delivering it to two drug sellers, including Mr. B, via Telegram.

The commission Mr. A and others took was about 100 million won, equivalent to 10% of the remitted amount.

The police confirmed that drug offenders were trading narcotics through virtual asset transaction agencies to avoid tracking by investigative agencies and conducted an investigation.

As a result, they were able to apprehend drug sellers in the process of analyzing transaction details of Mr. A and others.

The police confiscated narcotics worth approximately 130 million won, including 330g of ketamine, 3.4g of methamphetamine, 8.77g of synthetic cannabis, and 5 ecstasy pills.

Subsequently, 32 people who purchased narcotics through virtual asset transaction agencies were apprehended sequentially.

Their ages ranged from 20s to 30s, and they had various occupations such as office workers, entertainment industry workers, and self-employed individuals.

The police arrested and sent Mr. B, one of the 34 drug offenders, to the prosecution on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act, and sent the remaining 33 without detention.

A police official explained, "We have been cracking down since the second half of last year by establishing a virtual asset investigation team," adding, "We have preserved 105 million won in criminal proceeds before indictment."