5.4 kilos seized in 5 months; dealers get away with light punishment

By Kim Jae-won

Korea and the United States are conducting joint investigations into seven drug trafficking cases that allegedly involve former and active members of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), with ties to two U.S. gangs, the Korea Customs Service (KCS) said Tuesday.

The customs office said that it seized 5.4 kilograms of drugs from January to May, which U.S. soldiers had attempted to smuggle into the country. Most of the seized substances were “designer drugs” including synthetic marijuana and synthetic cathinones.

A total of 16 US soldiers were booked for drug trafficking with eight indicted by Korean prosecutors.

The customs office said that two U.S. gangs — the Bloods and the Korea Dragon Family — were involved in the cases, quoting a report from the National Gang Intelligence Center of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“We are looking into the drug trafficking crimes case by case. Some are still ongoing, while others have been completed,” said Lee Seung-kyu, a KCS official.

The Bloods and the Korea Dragon Family are two of 53 gang groups that have infiltrated the U.S. military, the report says. The Bloods are widely dispersed throughout the army, army reserves, coast guard, marines and navy, while the Korea Dragon Family only has members in the marines.

The report points out, “Deployments have resulted in integrating gang members with service members and/or dependents on or near overseas military installations, including those in Afghanistan, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Japan and South Korea.”

According to court documents, U.S. soldiers involved in the drug trafficking cases have been sentenced to suspended jail terms.

In Uijeongbu District Court on April 6, Marcus R. Lathon of Camp Casey, was convicted of using “spice” or synthetic marijuana and was given an eight-month prison term suspended for two years.

The Seoul Central District Court gave a suspended sentence of two-and-a-half years to Diego A. Lopez from Camp Yongsan in April for smuggling in AM-2201.

Recently the amount of seized designer drugs incidents involving members of the USFK has increased drastically.

The customs authority said it established a special unit to crack down on such drug smuggling and vowed to conduct a special investigation.

The KCS said that it will cooperate with other related government agencies, such as prosecutors, the police and the National Intelligence Service. International cooperation will also be asked from foreign customs agencies and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.