South Korea discovers two tonnes of suspected cocaine on board ship

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SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean authorities found about two tonnes of suspected cocaine on Wednesday on a ship docked at a port, the customs service said, in what appears to be the largest haul of smuggled drugs in the country’s history.

Korea Customs Service and Coast Guard found 57 boxes of the suspected drug on a bulk ship docked at Gangneung city port on the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, the customs service said in a statement.

They searched the ship after receiving information from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations, South Korean authorities said.

The ship started its voyage in Mexico and travelled via Ecuador, Panama and China before reaching Gangneung, the statement said. 

The customs agency had earlier estimated the weight of the suspected drugs at about one tonne, but doubled it after weighing the boxes.

The suspected cocaine haul easily outweighs South Korea’s previous record for smuggled drugs, which was 404 kilogrammes of methamphetamine found in 2021, a customs spokesperson said. 

South Korea has tough drug laws, and crimes are typically punishable by at least six months in prison or up to 15 years or more for repeat offenders and dealers. 

(Reporting by Joyce Lee;Editing by Gareth Jones and Kate Mayberry)