A 55-year-old Vancouver man with suspected links to the United Nations gang and the Rock Machine has been arrested in South Korea with a large amount of cocaine.
The man, whose name is protected in the Korean justice system, was arrested Aug. 10 after an investigation by that country’s coast guard. Two Korean men were also arrested and charged.
A coast guard source confirmed to Postmedia that the investigation began several months ago after a Korean was caught selling large amounts of cocaine.
The Korean national was arrested and agreed to contact his alleged supplier to arrange for another purchase. The Vancouver man showed up at the meeting and was arrested, the source said.
More bricks of cocaine were found during a search of the Canadian’s home, resulting in a total seizure of 60 kilograms — the most ever seized from an individual in Korea. (Larger seizures have been intercepted in shipping containers.)
The source explained that the cocaine arrived in Korea via a container ship and was in liquid form, hidden in paint cans, meaning detector dogs could not smell it.
It was then taken to a factory about an hour east of Seoul and believed to be controlled by the drug gang. There, the liquid cocaine was converted into brick form. The seized bricks were stamped “UN” — believed to be a reference to the United Nations gang.
The Vancouver man claimed during an interrogation after his arrest that he “is a member of the UN gang” and “also implied most of his activity took part at Vancouver,” the source said.
He remains in custody and is expected to go to trial within two months. Drug trafficking sentences in Korea range from five years to life.