Amount of confiscated narcotics surges in H1: customs

SEOUL, July 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's customs office said Sunday that its seizures of narcotics smuggled into the country more than tripled in the first half of this year from a year earlier.
According to the Korea Customs Service (KCS), the agency confiscated 17.6 kilograms of drugs, including methamphetamine and cocaine, in the January-June period, a 3.4-fold increase from a year ago.
The narcotics seized during the six month period was valued at 41 billion won (US$38.8 million), quadruple the year-earlier value.
The customs office said there was a sharp increase in the amount of narcotics that was ordered online. African countries, Canada and Panama were among the new origins of the drugs, it added.
Narcotics smuggled from China, however, dropped to 2.9 kilograms in the six months from 5 kilograms one year ago, due to a government crackdown.
The customs office said it plans to step up a clampdown on drug smugglers and request the country's communications regulator to block access to Web sites that sell narcotics.
ylee@yna.co.kr
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