Three foreign nationals have been indicted on charges of attempting to smuggle a new type of drug known as yaba, valued at 2.2 billion won ($1.48 million), into South Korea via international mail, prosecutors said Thursday.
The Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office said it arrested and indicted three suspects — a 28-year-old Malaysian and two Thai nationals aged 24 and 34 — on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.
They are accused of attempting to bring 44,000 yaba pills into the country from Vietnam through international mail on Sept. 30, 2025.
Yaba, widely circulated in Southeast Asia, is a narcotic made by combining methamphetamine and caffeine. Its name means “crazy drug” in Thai.
Investigators said the suspects attempted to retrieve the drug-filled parcel from a greenhouse in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province.
After detecting the shipment, the Incheon Airport Main Customs’ special judicial police alerted prosecutors, who obtained a warrant and seized the drugs the following day.
Authorities arrested the Malaysian suspect at the scene and later tracked down the two others, including one Thai national who initially fled on a motorcycle.
Prosecutors also found that the group had smuggled 3,910 yaba pills worth about 200 million won into the country in June 2025 using the same method, and added charges related to that case.
Authorities have identified a 31-year-old Thai national believed to be the ringleader and requested that Interpol issue a Red Notice for his arrest.
“We will respond strictly to drug smuggling crimes in close cooperation with relevant agencies,” an official at the prosecutors’ office said.
The office added that the number of foreign nationals among those arrested for drug smuggling rose from 15 in 2024, or 23 percent of the total, to 27 in 2025, accounting for 42 percent.
seungku99@heraldcorp.com
