DRUG SMUGGLING

[Anchor Lead]

A foreign resident in Korea has been arrested for smuggling medicinal drugs out of the country. The man lied about being ill to have the drugs prescribed. He took advantage of the fact that Korean hospitals prescribe painkillers and other drugs with little suspicion for foreign patients.

[Pkg]

A man comes into a store to mail a package. The box contains medicinal drugs used as painkillers such as Fentanyl and Oxycodone. He had the drugs prescribed without presenting a passport by claiming he's a short-term foreign resident suffering from backaches. He planned meticulously, going around five different hospitals using different names.

[Soundbite] HYEON GYEONG-UK(NARCOTICS DIVISION, NOWON POLICE STATION) : "It's difficult for hospitals to verify excess or overlapping prescriptions because identification of foreign residents can be complicated."

The man sold the drugs online to overseas purchasers. He made a profit of around 1.2 billion won over five years. Some of the drugs he sold overseas are known to cost just a few dollars per pill in Korea but can fetch several hundred dollars in some countries. The police arrested the American national on charges of narcotics smuggling. His Korean wife is also booked without detention for turning a blind eye to his crime. Under the domestic narcotics management system, such illegal acts can only be discovered after they take place. The American obtained prescriptions for similar drugs at multiple hospitals but authorities failed to notice it.