CONTENTS
- 1. Drug Courier, What Were the Detailed Circumstances?
- - Drug Courier, What Are the Relevant Statutes and Precedents?
- 2. Drug Courier, What Was the Court's Determination?
- 3. Drug Courier, What Was Daeryun's Strategy?
1. Drug Courier, What Were the Detailed Circumstances?
The circumstances of the case of Defendant A, who stood trial as a drug courier, are as follows.
B ordered methamphetamine from an unidentified drug dealer in Thailand, concealed it in a box, and then listed the delivery address as the residence next to A's home and shipped it by international express mail.
C then asked A, “I have sent the parcel to the house next door, so please load it onto the taxi I am sending and forward it to me.”
Although A was aware that methamphetamine was inside the parcel box, A delivered the box by taxi in accordance with C's request.
As a result, A was charged with aiding, on the ground of having facilitated the methamphetamine importation offense of B and C.
A, however, argued that because A delivered the parcel box that had been sent to the house next door after the methamphetamine had already been imported into the country, this constituted aiding after the fact, occurring after the offense had ended, and therefore could not be established as an accomplice.
Drug Courier, What Are the Relevant Statutes and Precedents?
🔗A drug courier refers to anyone who receives drugs from abroad and transports them into the country, or transports them to a specific location within the country.
Such conduct may be punished as aiding a drug offense.
▣ Article 60 (Penal Provisions) of the Narcotics Control Act A person who falls under any of the following subparagraphs shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 10 years or a fine not exceeding 100 million won.
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The issue in this judgment was the determination of accomplice liability depending on whether the conduct constituted aiding after the fact.
Aiding means any act, other than the act of commission itself, that facilitates or strengthens the principal offender's commission of the crime.
However, once the principal offender's act of commission has already ended, an accomplice cannot be established. In other words, aiding after the fact is not recognized as aiding.
2. Drug Courier, What Was the Court's Determination?
The District Court that heard the case against A, who was charged as a drug courier, rendered an acquittal on A's aiding charge.
Citing a Supreme Court decision, the court explained, “Aiding means an act of support that, with knowledge of the principal offender's specific preparation for or commission of the crime, enables, promotes, or facilitates the act of commission, or an act that strengthens or increases the infringement of legal interests by the principal offender before the criminal act has ended; therefore, aiding after the fact, occurring after the principal offender's criminal act has ended, cannot be deemed that of an accomplice.” (See Supreme Court, Decision of April 27, 1982, 82 Do 122, among others.)
The court found that there was no evidence that A had communicated with B and C regarding the importation of methamphetamine before B and C imported it from Thailand, and it determined that A's conduct amounted to no more than ‘receiving the parcel box containing the methamphetamine that B and C had imported and forwarding it to C.’
Accordingly, the court found that A had done nothing to assist or facilitate the offense in any manner during the process of bringing the methamphetamine into the country.
It therefore rendered an acquittal, stating that “the evidence submitted by the prosecutor alone makes it difficult to find that A aided the methamphetamine importation offense of B and C before that offense had ended.”
3. Drug Courier, What Was Daeryun's Strategy?
We have analyzed a District Court judgment that, in adjudicating a drug courier charge, found that a transport act carried out after the criminal act of the principal offender in the drug importation had ended constituted aiding after the fact and did not amount to that of an accomplice, and accordingly rendered an acquittal.
Because the reward for transporting drugs is large, many people take part while knowing that the goods are drugs, and conversely, many also make deliveries without realizing that the goods are drugs.
Regardless of intent, a drug courier has participated in a crime involving drug distribution, and because one such person can give rise to numerous drug offenders, a courier may at times be punished more severely than for the crime of drug use.
Accordingly, if you face a related charge, we recommend promptly obtaining the assistance of an attorney experienced in drug matters and proceeding with your case.
The 🔗Drug Response Group of Daeryun Law Firm LLP holds numerous defense cases, including a 🔗case of non-prosecution for a charge of aiding a drug offense, so if you need assistance, you are welcome to request a legal consultation at any time.
