Three Russian nationals have been arrested on charges of smuggling North Korean medicines into South Korea for online sales, police here said Thursday.
The Russians, including a 47-year-old woman, are accused of importing North Korea-made medicines and health supplements via Russia by airmail and selling them without a permit to South Korean consumers through social media sites, Geumjung Police Station in this port city said.
This photo provided by Busan's Geumjung Police Station on March 30, 2017, shows North Korean medicines seized from arrested Russians. (Yonhap)
It said the unauthorized import of North Korean goods violates the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act that strictly regulates trade between the two Koreas. Under the act, imports of North Korean medicines and other goods require the approval of the South Korean unification minister.
The North Korean goods smuggled here by the Russians included 205 boxes of six kinds of drugs, worth about 9 million won ($8,080), police said, adding they were bought in the North and airmailed to South Korea via Russia.
The smuggled medicines, all produced by the North's Pugang Pharmaceutic Co., include erectile dysfunction drugs and health supplements touted by its manufacturer as effective in treating various adult diseases, police said.
Police said they will continue to crack down on illegal imports of North Korean products. (Yonhap)