Objects suspected to be narcotics were found one after another along the Jeju coastline.
According to the Jeju Regional Korea Coast Guard Headquarters on the 4th, a report of a substance suspected to be narcotics was filed at Jeju Port at 10:30 a.m. on the 1st. On the 31st, a resident found a substance suspected to be narcotics on the coast of Jocheon-eup, Jeju City, and reported it to the Korea Coast Guard. The Korea Coast Guard collected the objects found at the two locations and requested a detailed appraisal from the National Forensic Service.
The Korea Coast Guard said all the objects found this time were contained in tea bags, and about 1 kilogram of a white crystalline substance in the shape of a rectangular block was sealed and packaged. It was found to have a packaging form similar to about 20 kilograms of the psychotropic drug ketamine found on the coast of Seongsan-eup on Sept. 29. That amounts to doses for 660,000 people simultaneously. At 11:18 a.m. on the 24th, about 1 kilogram of ketamine disguised in a tea bag was also found on the coast of Aewol-eup, Jeju City.
The Korea Coast Guard formed a task force, and the detailed circumstances of the case are under investigation. An official at the Jeju Regional Korea Coast Guard Headquarters said, "As suspected narcotics have recently been found on coasts in several places in the province, we plan to proceed with the investigation while keeping in mind various possibilities, including that they may have flowed in from the sea," adding, "We are strengthening searches at sea and along the coastline in Jeju. We also plan to carry out publicity activities to encourage reports when suspicious objects are found by maritime workers and others."