Drug proceeds worth 1 billion won 'money laundered' with virtual assets... 40 people, including agents, caught

Drug proceeds worth 1 billion won 'money laundered' with virtual assets... 40 people, including agents, caught

40 people, including operators of agencies that laundered drug transaction proceeds into virtual assets and drug offenders, have been caught by the police.

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 14th that it has sent 6 operators of virtual asset transaction agencies, including Mr. A, to the prosecution without detention on charges including violation of the Act on Reporting and Use of Specific Financial Transaction Information.

Mr. A and others are suspected of laundering 1 billion won in cash, sent by 32 drug purchasers, into virtual assets such as Bitcoin from September last year to April this year, and then delivering it to two drug sellers, including Mr. B, via Telegram.

The commission taken by Mr. A and others was about 100 million won, which is 10% of the transferred amount.

The police confirmed that drug offenders were trading drugs through virtual asset transaction agencies to avoid tracking by investigative agencies and conducted an investigation.

As a result, they were able to arrest drug sellers during the process of analyzing transaction details of Mr. A and others.

The police confiscated drugs worth approximately 130 million won, including 330g of ketamine, 3.4g of methamphetamine, 8.77g of synthetic marijuana, and 5 ecstasy pills.

Subsequently, 32 people who purchased drugs through virtual asset transaction agencies were sequentially arrested.

Their age range was 20s to 30s, and they had various occupations such as office workers, entertainment industry workers, and self-employed individuals.

The police arrested and sent Mr. B among the 34 drug offenders on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act, and sent the remaining 33 without detention.

A police official explained, "We have been cracking down since the second half of last year by establishing a virtual asset investigation team," and added, "We have preserved approximately 105 million won in criminal proceeds before indictment."