Usfk Postal Serves As Route for Illegal Drugs

The U.S. military postal service has emerged as a major route for drug smuggling in recent years. The increased number of cases is escalating worries of the spread of drugs in Korea, lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties said Wednesday.

According to data submitted by the Korea Customs Service (KCS) to Kim Hyun-mee, a member of the main opposition Democratic Party, illegal drugs seized at the Joint Military Mail Terminal (JMMT) in Incheon International Airport soared to 2.9 kilograms in 2012 from 374 grams a year earlier.

“As hybrid drugs such as cannabis cookie have recently been found being sold near Hongdae, which is crowded by youngsters, our biggest priority is to stop these being spread among the general public,” Kim Joon-ho, an aide to the opposition party member, told The Korea Times by telephone.

In the January-September period, the corresponding figure remained high at 1.15 kilograms despite joint efforts by the United States Forces Korea (USFK) and the government to crack down on illegal imports of drugs through the JMMT, the data showed.

“It is getting harder to spot drugs hidden in mail and parcels (delivered from the U.S.) with X-ray machines because traffickers employ more sophisticated measures to bring drugs (into Korea),” Kim Soo-yeon, deputy director of the KCS Passenger and Simplified Clearance Division, said by phone.

Last year, Kim said the KCS increased the number of inspectors to eight as part of efforts to strengthen its clampdown on illegal drug trafficking at the JMMT from one the previous year.

The inspection team goes to the...