By September, 574kg of drugs had been detected...24% increase in number of cases and 16% increase in weight

This year, nearly 600 kilograms of drugs were caught smuggling until September, enough for 19 million people to administer them at the same time.

The Korea Customs Service said a total of 623 cases and 574 kilograms of drugs were detected at the border stage in the first nine months of this year, up 24% on the same period last year and 16% on volume.

In terms of smuggling routes, international mail had the highest number of cases with 319 cases and 51%, followed by express cargo with 156 cases and 25% and smuggling through travelers with 141 cases and 23%.

In particular, the number of international mail smuggling cases increased by 41% from last year, but the weight decreased by 40%, indicating that small smuggling for self-consumption purposes increased.

The main starting countries for drugs were Thailand, the United States, and Mexico, followed by methamphetamine and marijuana.

Comparing the types of drugs to the same period last year, cocaine surged 919% in terms of detection weight, methamphetamine rose 33% and ketamine rose 5%, while hemp fell 62%.