SYRINGES LEFT BY DRUG OFFENDERS

[Anchor Lead]

The Korea Coast Guard has apprehended two men in Busan for using methamphetamine. They threw away syringes they used for injecting narcotics into the sea to conceal their crime, but it was eventually revealed when the syringes were caught by a fishing hook.

[Pkg]

A pier in Busan. Back in November a local fisherman caught a suspicious black plastic bag. Inside were gravel and dozens of syringes.

[Soundbite] (Fisherman(VOICE MODIFIED)) : "It was heavy, so I thought I had caught an octopus. But it turned out to be a small bag containing syringe needles. So I reported it right away."

The syringes discovered by the fisherman contained substances similar to methamphetamine. The Korea Coast Guard found traces of blood and meth in the syringes and identified the culprits using criminal records. They turned out to be a member of an organized crime group in his 50s and his acquaintance. Locating them turned out to be difficult, as they don't have permanent addresses. But they were eventually detained six months later in Ulsan and Busan. An investigation revealed the two used illegal drugs and threw away their syringes into the sea along with gravel to hide evidence in early November. But less than ten days later, their crime was revealed when the syringes got caught in a fishing hook.

[Soundbite] Bae Jong-kook(Southern Regional Coast Guard HQs) : "The perpetrators liked fishing. They threw away the syringes in the area they used to fish. They were high on drugs at the time of arrest, they tested positive."

The Coast Guard has transferred the perpetrators to prosecutors for violating the Narcotics Control Act, and will expand the investigation into their accomplices who supplied the illegal substance.