A former professional baseball player has been sentenced to a decade behind bars after a court in Busan found him guilty of smuggling nearly two kilograms of ketamine from Thailand into South Korea.
The Busan District Court convicted the 33‑year‑old under Article 11 of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, imposing a 10‑year term, a mandatory 40‑hour drug‑rehabilitation course and a forfeiture of 100,000 won.
A Sophisticated Smuggling Network
Prosecutors described a “relay smuggling” operation in which couriers exchanged the drug at locations such as airport restrooms, a tactic designed to evade detection.
The scheme also involved recruiting families traveling with children, whom the perpetrators believed would attract less scrutiny at security checkpoints.
Investigators uncovered the plot through encrypted communications on Telegram, and the court accepted internet search records and cryptocurrency transaction data as key pieces of evidence.
The court further found that the defendant had attempted to destroy evidence via a third party, reinforcing the gravity of the offense.
Acquittal of an Accomplice
A 30‑year‑old software developer who was alleged to have assisted the former player was acquitted, as the court determined that the proof of his participation was insufficient.
Prosecutors had initially sought a life sentence for the baseball star and a ten‑year term for the developer, but the final judgments reflected the differing evidentiary standards applied to each defendant.
The ruling highlights how drug‑related crimes are treated with heightened seriousness, given their difficulty to detect and their potential to spread substance abuse across communities.