Ten Korean Women Serving Jail Time Overseas on Drug Charges

The Narcotics Division of the Seoul District Public Prosecutors` Office announced on Saturday that it has verified ten South Korean women serving jail time overseas. They were arrested and found guilty of drug charges in, for example, the Netherlands, Britain, Japan and Brazil.

According to the DA`s Office, the ten women were members of a Nigerian drug ring, and participated in the drug smuggling.

"The Nigerian ring has settled itself in Itaewon, Seoul,” one prosecutor said. “The ring members speak fluent English and act like American businessmen or solders stationed in Korea. They promise free trips overseas to attract South Korean women. Then, the ring has them carry drugs."

For two weeks from January 27th, the DA`s Office dispatched a special task force to the countries where the women are imprisoned including Brazil, the Netherlands, and Britain. The special investigation team conducted a probe into the status of the women and their prison lives.

Most of the women reportedly wish to get extradited back to South Korea to avoid the difficult prison life in foreign countries arising mostly out of language barriers and cultural differences. Having violated the laws in those countries though, they are treated as convicts and thus are not subject to extradition, the DA`s Office reported.

"Currently, some 500 Nigerians are illegally staying in our country. It seems that most of them are involved in drug trafficking," the spokesperson from the DA`s Office said.

Last October, the DA`s Office arrested three Nigerian nationals suspected of smuggling drugs into South Korea. The DA`s Office indicted one of them, and handed over the rest to the Immigrations Office for deportation.

Myoung-Gun Lee gun43@donga.com