This picture taken on Aug 23, 2023 shows US soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division taking part in the UFS/TIGER Combined Urban Operations plan, as part of the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield drills, at the Wollong Urban Area Operations training center on Paju in Gyeonggi-do. (PHOTO / AFP)

SEOUL - US soldiers in South Korea had been caught smuggling drugs from the United States through military mail, local media reported Wednesday citing police.

The police in Pyeongtaek, about 60 km south of the capital Seoul where the headquarters of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea (USFK) is located, apprehended 17 US service members, four South Koreans and one Filipino.

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Among them, a 33-year-old Filipino and one 27-year-old South Korean woman were detained and transferred to the prosecution for indictment.

The drug smuggled as liquid synthetic cannabis in plastic containers is hard to distinguish from liquid electronic cigarettes

The 17 US soldiers and three South Koreans were reported to the prosecution for indictment without detention.

One 24-year-old US service member was accused of having illegally smuggled 350 ml of synthetic cannabis through the USFK mail between February last year and May this year while smoking, selling, and distributing them to USFK soldiers and other people.

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The drug smuggled as liquid synthetic cannabis in plastic containers is hard to distinguish from liquid electronic cigarettes. 

The smuggled drugs had been mostly sold to US soldiers in Pyeongtaek and Dongducheon, some 40 km north of Seoul, through the detained women and five other people.

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The local police had confiscated 12,850 US dollars of drug sales proceeds, 80 ml of synthetic cannabis, and other materials, planning to continue the investigation into the smuggling route.