BI deports South Korean wanted for selling psychotropic drugs

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday announced that it has recently deported a South Korean national wanted in his country for trading psychotropic drugs.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente identified the South Korean national as Oh Joohwan, 30 year old, who was immediately intercepted upon his arrival at the Mactan airport on board an Air Asia flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Oh was recently deported to his country escorted by prosecutors and anti-drug investigators from Korea’s Ministry of Justice.

Morente said upon Oh’s arrival, he was immediately excluded after the BI database at the airport showed that he is wanted in Korea for violating his country’s control of narcotics act.

The BI chief explained that he was immediately excluded from the other passengers even before going out of the airplane because the Korean consulate warned that Oh might harm other passengers on any hint that authorities are waiting for him at the airport.

BI port operations division chief Marc Red Mariñas disclosed it was only last Oct. 31 that the Interpol issued a red notice alerting Philippine authorities about his criminal record and on the possibility that he might enter the country.

“We were supposed to book him on the first available return flight to Korea after he was intercepted but officials from the Korean embassy requested that his departure be deferred pending the arrival of his escorts,” Mariñas said.

Korean authorities alleged that sometime between June and August this year, Oh and his accomplice posted an Internet advertisement to sell a prohibited drug called philopon to interested buyers.

During this period, the suspects allegedly sold undetermined amounts of the philopon drug to several buyers over 314 times and from which they earned profit amounting to more than 207.2 million Korean won or around P9.6 million.

Philopon has been tagged as largely responsible for the rise of the juvenile crime rate in Japan. /je