South Korean ‘Crypto Drug-trading Teens’ Jailed
A “continuous” flow of South Korean teens is being given jail time as law enforcers continue a crackdown on crypto-powered drug trading.
Kyungnam Shinmun reported that courts in the southern city of Changwon are now “sentencing teens and people in their twenties to imprisonment, one after another.”
Recent examples, the newspaper explained, included an unnamed 19-year-old who was convicted of buying narcotics including ecstasy (MDMA) and ketamine in violation of the Narcotics Control Act.
The teenager was sentenced to eight months in prison and two years of probation.
The teen was also ordered to attend lectures on the negative effects of drugs.
The sentencing judge was quoted as stating:
“Drug crimes have an adverse effect on a person’s sound mind and judgment. Drug addiction has a great negative impact on society as a whole.”
Another individual was given a one-year, four-month prison term on April 17, along with two years of probation.
This individual, the court heard, made multiple drug purchases “with the use of Telegram and cryptocurrency wallets.”
The court heard that drug dealers had distributed the narcotics using the “dead drop” method.
This involves pre-payment in crypto.
The drug dealer then leaves the drug “delivery” hidden in a public place near the intended recipient, such as a disused drain pipe or a crack in a public building.
The dealer then leaves the scene and contacts the buyer to explain where the drugs are hidden.
Narcotics prices are typically much higher in South Korea than elsewhere in the world.
This is due mainly to the fact that the police have previously been successful in their efforts to stamp out drug crime in the nation.
But the advent of social media, encrypted chat apps, and crypto appear to have
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