Drug Courier | Acquittal Because Loading Methamphetamine Imported into the Country onto a Taxi Constituted Aiding After the Fact

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.

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.”

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.