A group that set up a fake hospital in Gangnam, Seoul, illegally distributed over 1 billion won worth of general anesthetics and is now facing trial.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's narcotics investigation team, led by Head of Team Kim Bo-sung, noted that they investigated the illegal distribution case of the general anesthetic 'etomidate' for 10 months and prosecuted nine members of the illegal selling organization (five detained) for violations of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, on the 21st.
Etomidate is an anesthetic that causes loss of consciousness and is known to have a risk and addiction level comparable to that of propofol.
According to the prosecution, the top supplier, a pharmaceutical wholesaler representative surnamed Lee (41, detained), is accused of falsely declaring the export of etomidate from May to August of last year, smuggling it back into the country, and selling 35,000 mL for 100 million won to an intermediary supplier surnamed Choi (38, detained).
Subsequently, Mr. Choi sold 45,000 mL of etomidate for 235 million won to Mr. Yang (37, detained) together with his accomplice, Mr. Jo (39). Mr. Yang and five accomplices established and operated a fake hospital in Gangnam, Seoul, and from May last year to January this year, sold and administered etomidate worth 888 million won to addicts in a total of 544 instances. They were found to have organized their roles as fund managers, nurse assistants, and proxy managers. Additionally, it was investigated that they sold etomidate at their own or addicts' residences to evade detection.
The cost price of one unit of etomidate (10 mL) is 4,200 won, but the final selling price exceeded 200,000 won, which is 47 times the cost price. Among users, the maximum payment per day amounted to 15.8 million won, which corresponds to the dose for 79 administrations.
The prosecution noted that because etomidate is not designated as a narcotic, they could not apply charges related to violations of the Narcotics Control Act until now. In February, a legislative notice for a revised bill designating etomidate as a narcotic is currently under review by the National Assembly.
The prosecution stated, 'To prevent illegal distribution that exploits the regulatory gap in the supervision of specialized medicines until etomidate is designated as a narcotic, we have proposed strengthening management and oversight, including improving monitoring of 'export-only' pharmaceuticals to the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA),' and added, 'We will respond strictly to illegal distribution crimes of narcotic drugs as well as pharmaceuticals that cause similar side effects.'