Smugglers Busted

[Anchor Lead]

The police have apprehended a group of smugglers who brought fake imported watches worth hundreds of billions of won into the nation from China. It has been revealed that customs service officials leaked information to the smugglers in return for bribes.

[Pkg]

This is a studio apartment in Gyeonggi-do Province. A wall is lined with baskets containing watches Despite the internationally known name-brand labels, the watches are all knock-offs. For nearly two years, a group of smugglers brought some 3700 fake watches into Korea from China, that if genuine would be valued at 250 billion won. The sophisticated counterfeits looked so authentic that they sold for hundreds of thousands of won apiece via wholesalers, retailers and social media channels. The smugglers took advantage of a loophole in the Korean customs clearance process, which lacks a permit system and depends on voluntary reports by people. They also falsely reported the watches as toys, which are not subject to strict smuggling inspections. A 39-year-old customs service official surnamed Lee was found to have received 500,000 won in bribes from the smugglers in return for giving favors. Another customs official identified as Kim handed over the personal information of freight inspectors to the offenders. The Korea Customs Service denied the officials' direct involvement in smuggling. Police arrested three smugglers, including a 38-year-old surnamed Lee, on charges of importing and circulating fake watches. Their eleven accomplices were booked without physical detention. The two customs official were also booked without detention.