Twelve people, including a hip-hop singer and a composer, were indicted on charges of cultivating marijuana.
On the 22nd, the government joint investigation headquarters for drug crimes (abbreviated as the joint investigation headquarters) said that after conducting a focused investigation into marijuana cultivators for about four months from March 4 to that day, a total of 12 people were indicted on charges of violating the narcotics control law. Of these, six were indicted in custody and are awaiting trial.
The joint investigation headquarters, leveraging the strength of having customs within the investigative organization, used Seoul Customs' analysis of customs clearance records as a key investigative lead. Through this, they were able to pinpoint the marijuana cultivation period, which is usually carried out secretly for a short period of three to four months, and they said they were able to raid the sites before evidence was destroyed and arrest the suspects.
In particular, it was all the more shocking that eight of those caught had been growing marijuana in densely populated residential areas. They were composed of music instructors, members of hip-hop groups, composers, and English instructors, and three of them were indicted in custody.
Among them, hip-hop group member A is accused of cultivating marijuana at his residence from May last year to May this year and of possessing about 155.9g of marijuana. It was even revealed that A was a member of a hip-hop group who had appeared on a music competition program in the past.
Coincidentally, many past rappers had been criticized for being involved in numerous drug incidents including marijuana. In response, internet users expressed outrage with comments such as "Chanhyuk scores another win" and "You grow drugs and release an album as work music?" They were referring to lyrics by Lee Chanhyuk that criticized the hip-hop scene, which had become all about exhausting diss tracks, with the line "at some point hip-hop isn't cool anymore," uttered during the Mnet survival audition program series "Show Me the Money."
In addition, the joint investigation headquarters also uncovered a four-person group that systematically cultivated marijuana in sparsely populated factories and warehouses, and three of them were detained. It is reported that the group attempted to destroy evidence at three cultivation sites but were all arrested after the investigation team raided the locations.
Those arrested had jointly cultivated marijuana for a long period since 2019, using plant cultivation tents, LED lighting, and automatic watering systems for cultivation. In addition to about 3kg of marijuana, it was reported that they manufactured and distributed marijuana in jelly form, adding to the shock.<
[Photo] OSEN DB.
[OSEN]