The government joint investigation headquarters on narcotics crimes, which is currently investigating "drug king" Park Wang-yeol, questioned in the Philippines a person known as "the blue whale," his maternal nephew and an alleged accomplice.
According to investigative authorities on the 18th, the joint narcotics team sent nine people, including one prosecutor and investigators, to Manila, Philippines, on the 12th to conduct an interview and questioning of A, who is being held in a correctional facility.
A, Park Wang-yeol's maternal nephew, is called "the blue whale." Park's narcotics crime accomplice, A was found to have been in charge of smuggling drugs since 2024 and to have been involved in distribution in Korea.
The investigation team returned that day and plans to reinforce evidence to substantiate charges against Park Wang-yeol based on the local interview and investigative materials.
The joint narcotics headquarters plans to complete the investigation and indict him in custody by the 22nd, when Park Wang-yeol's detention period expires.
Park Wang-yeol was temporarily extradited on the 25th of last month on charges of distributing large quantities of narcotics in Korea while serving time in a local prison in the Philippines for killing three Koreans, and is currently being held at Suwon Detention Center.
The amount Park Wang-yeol smuggled or tried to distribute and was caught was found to include 12.7 kg of methamphetamine and 17.7 kg of narcotics in total (worth about 6.3 billion won) from November 2019 to August 2024.
Adding 6.8 billion won in revenue already analyzed as cash received from sales through account analysis, the proceeds of crime from narcotics that he was involved in were found to be about 13.1 billion won.
The Gyeonggi Northern Provincial Police Agency, which questioned the extradited Park Wang-yeol, referred the case to the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office on the 3rd, but the joint narcotics headquarters, which brings together the expertise and investigative personnel of eight agencies including prosecutors, police, the National Intelligence Service (NIS), and the Korea Customs Service, has taken over the case and is currently investigating.