Latest news with #Norwegian-flagged
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Yahoo
Drug-sniffing dogs help find record haul of cocaine hidden on ship
South Korea discovered and seized two tons of cocaine hidden aboard a Norwegian-flagged vessel, authorities told AFP on Friday, marking the country's largest drug bust to date. The Korea Coast Guard said they had found two tons of what they suspect to be pure cocaine on a Norwegian-flagged ship which had departed from Mexico and made stops in Ecuador, Panama and China. The operation was launched after South Korean authorities received intelligence from U.S. agencies -- the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) -- that the vessel was carrying hidden narcotics. The Korea Coast Guard and Korea Customs Service coordinated a large-scale search operation "consisting of a joint search team of 90 officers... along with two drug-sniffing dog units," the Korea Coast Guard said. After the vessel docked at an east coast port in South Korea, the team immediately boarded the vessel and "discovered a hidden compartment behind the ship's engine room." The drugs were packed in 56 sacks, each holding some 30 to 40 kilograms (about 66 to 88 pounds) of the drug, authorities said, bringing the total haul to around two tons. "Preliminary field tests confirmed the substances as suspected cocaine," the Korea Coast Guard official told AFP. "The seizure is the largest in history, about five times bigger than the previous record which was 404 kilograms of methamphetamine," a Korea Customs Service official told AFP. The estimated street value is $697 million, they added. Authorities have launched a joint investigation team to question the vessel's captain and crew about the origin and intended destination of the drugs, and the route used to transport them. Investigators also said they are looking into potential ties to international drug trafficking syndicates and will expand cooperation with the FBI and HSI. South Korea has long ranked among the countries with low drug use globally, thanks to its strict laws and strong social stigma. The operation follows other major cocaine seizures on ships -- and in the open seas -- around the globe this year. Just last week, Portugese police said officers recently confiscated nearly 6.5 tons of cocaine from a semi-submersible vessel, or so-called "narco sub," intercepted off the Azores while bound for the Iberian peninsula. In February, divers in Poland discovered more than 220 pounds of cocaine on the bottom of the Baltic Sea. That same month, a semi-submersible vessel loaded with over 5,000 pounds of cocaine was intercepted off the Pacific coast of Colombia. Kentucky whiskey producers react to Trump tariffs Whisky Island | 60 Minutes Archive Israeli forces expand ground operations in Gaza
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Yahoo
South Korea seize two tons of cocaine in largest-ever drug bust
South Korea discovered and seized two tons of cocaine hidden aboard a Norwegian-flagged vessel, authorities told AFP on Friday, marking the country's largest drug bust to date. The Korea Coast Guard said they had found "two tons" of what they suspect to be pure cocaine on a Norwegian-flagged vessel which had departed from Mexico and made stops in Ecuador, Panama, and China. The operation was launched after South Korean authorities received intelligence from US agencies -- the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) -- that the vessel was carrying hidden narcotics. The Korea Coast Guard and Korea Customs Service coordinated a large-scale search operation "consisting of a joint search team of 90 officers... along with two drug-sniffing dog units," the Korea Coast Guard said. After the vessel docked at an east coast port in South Korea, the team immediately boarded the vessel and "discovered a hidden compartment behind the ship's engine room". The drugs were packed in 56 sacks, each holding some 30 to 40 kilograms (about 66 to 88 pounds) of the drug, authorities said, bringing the total haul to around two tons. "Preliminary field tests confirmed the substances as suspected cocaine," the Korea Coast Guard official told AFP. "The seizure is the largest in history, about five times bigger than the previous record which was 404 kilograms of methamphetamine," a Korea Customs Service official told AFP. The estimated street value is one trillion won ($697 million), they added. Authorities have launched a joint investigation team to question the vessel's captain and crew about the origin and intended destination of the drugs, and the route used to transport them. Investigators also said they are looking into potential ties to international drug trafficking syndicates and will expand cooperation with the FBI and HSI. South Korea has long ranked among the countries with low drug use globally, thanks to its strict laws and strong social stigma. hs/ceb/dhc
Korea Herald
03-04-2025
- Korea Herald
S. Korea seizes record 2-ton cocaine transport on foreign ship on east coast
South Korea's customs authorities and Coast Guard has seized approximately 2 tons of smuggled cocaine on a foreign vessel docked on the country's east coast, officials said Thursday. At around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Donghae regional office of the Coast Guard and the Seoul Regional Customs deployed around 90 personnel to search the ship docked at a port in Gangneung after receiving a tip-off from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI had warned that a 32,000-ton carrier suspected of carrying drugs was entering Korean waters on the day, according to the officials. The Norwegian-flagged vessel is believed to have departed from Mexico and traveled through Ecuador, Panama and China before arriving in Korea. Authorities discovered 57 boxes containing packages with about 1 kilogram of cocaine each, totaling 2 tons, hidden aboard the ship. The seized drugs have an estimated market value of 1 trillion won ($679.6 million), equivalent to around 67 million doses. According to the Korea Customs Service, this marks the country's largest-ever drug bust in terms of weight. Authorities said they are investigating the ship's captain and crew to determine the origin and destination of the drugs. They also plan to expand the investigation into possible links to an international drug trafficking organization in cooperation with the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations. (Yonhap)
