A series of heavy sentences for "Dark Web drug dealers"..."Hard punishment for bulk distributors"

[Anchor]
Criminals who distributed drugs on the "dark web," which is difficult for the general public to access, have recently been sentenced to heavy punishment.

The court has strengthened punishment for dealing with minors or mass distribution, and the plan is to strictly respond to the recent increase in drug offenses.

Reporter Shin Ji-won reports.

[Reporter]
A man in his 30s who ran a professional drug shopping mall on the "dark web," which is known as the Internet of Darkness, was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison in the first trial.

The volume of transactions confirmed by the prosecution alone reached 160 million won, and seized drugs such as hemp and cocaine amounted to 1 billion won based on the market price.

The court explained that A distributed considerable types and quantities through the "dark web," which is difficult for the general public to access, and that it is necessary to punish him severely.

Last month, an accomplice in his 20s was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, while another man in his 30s was sentenced to five years in prison by an appeals court for allegedly trading drugs for profit on the dark web.

The reason why drug offenders were sentenced to heavy punishment one after another is because of the recent Supreme Court's sentencing committee's policy to strengthen punishment.

It recommended that minors be sentenced to up to life in prison if they sell drugs or distribute more than 1 billion won for profit.

[Chae Eui-joon / Lawyer: The scale of drug distribution has increased day by day through online and non-face-to-face transactions. The legislative vacuum is expected to be filled by recommending that the maximum legal sentence of life imprisonment be sentenced for crimes that distribute drugs worth more than 1 billion won.]

The prosecution is also strengthening its investigation into crimes by establishing the principle of arresting drug crimes.

[Shim Woo-jung / Prosecutor General (Inauguration ceremony on the 19th of last month): If we don't stop it now, we must firmly protect the people from drug crimes and crimes of people's livelihoods.]

The number of drug offenders arrested last year was 27,000, an increase of 1.5 times from 18,000 last year.

The number of "dark web" users, which are mainly used for drug crimes, averaged 42,000 per day in the first half of this year alone, more than doubling from last year's average (180,000).

Drug offenders are becoming more sophisticated day by day, such as operating in the form of point organizations or using routes that are difficult to track like the "dark web."

As such, it is pointed out that not only punishment should be strengthened, but also response personnel and budgets should be increased and investigative techniques should be diversified.

I'm Shin Jiwon of YTN.

Reporter for filming
: On Seungwon
Video editing: Lee Ja-eun
Design: Lee Na-eun