Korean drug kingpin extradited from Vietnam

A South Korean national considered one of the country's biggest drug traffickers based in Southeast Asia was repatriated from Vietnam on Tuesday, Korean police said.

The 47-year-old suspect, identified by his surname Kim, was the subject of an Interpol red notice for supplying illegal substances, including methamphetamine, via Telegram, since 2018, South Korea’s National Police Agency (NPA) said.

He was arrested in Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday after nearly three years of police cooperation between both countries, the NPA added.

A police vehicle outside a terminal at Incheon International Airport carried him away, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported Tuesday.

"This is a great example of consistent police cooperation with Vietnamese authorities to arrest the person in charge of one of the biggest drug trafficking rings based in Southeast Asia," Kang Ki-taek, director of the Interpol and International Investigative Assistance Division at the NPA, was quoted by Yonhap as saying.

The NPA alleges Kim trafficked around 7 billion won ($5.3 million) worth of illegal drugs, and led the ring with nearly 20 suppliers across South Korea. Kim is one of three major drug kingpins based in Southeast Asia. The NPA earlier arrested two others in the Philippines and Cambodia.

The NPA suspects Kim even supplied illegal substances to the two other drug kingpins, and that the total retail value of the illicit drug trade is expected to increase following further investigation, Yonhap said.