A Chosun Workers’ Party Central Committee
secretary affiliated with Musan Mine was dismissed after being caught with 1kg
of “ice” [crystal methamphetamine, or “crystal meth”] and is undergoing intense
investigation by the State Security Department. His possession of the illicit
drugs came to light when two thieves, caught for breaking into a house shortly
after burglarizing that of the secretary’s, revealed the information under
duress during the investigation.
“The Musan Mine Party secretary was hiding
1kg of ‘ice,’” a source in North Hamkyung Province reported to Daily NK on
February 26th. “ Two burglars in their 30s discovered and then took off
with the drugs while ransacking the residence.”
During an investigation by the Musan County
Ministry of People’s Security unit, the two young men made a full confession about
their actions and what they found in the secretary’s home. As a result, the
secretary was dismissed from his position and has been sent to the State
Security Department unit in North Hamkyung Province for further interrogation.
“There have been a number of high-ranking Party
cadres implicated in drug trafficking recently. This practice continues to
increase because 1kg of ‘ice’ can rake in 100,000 RMB [in North Korea],” the source said. “If the kilo he had was passed on to a Chinese trader, the price would be around 300,000 RMB for the same quantity.”
According to the source, the secretary’s
high-ranking status warrants a protracted investigation, and is likely to
entrap not only those circulating the drugs but also those manufacturing it. “Given the fact that the secretary neither
sold ice nor possessed it in large quantities, I think he would be sent to a reeducation
camp rather than a political prison camp,” he surmised. “While Kim Jung
Eun did mandate the same penalization for drug traffickers and political
prisoners, the former secretary will get off easier because he only had them in
possession but wasn’t caught selling them.”
Kim Jong Eun initiated branches of the 1218
Group, a unit tasked with rooting out drugs, under each provincial SSD
unit, in December 2010 to try to curtail the drug problem; the subsequent
crackdowns carried out by the organization saw a number of high-ranking Party
cadres, caught dealing drugs, summarily sent to languish in political prison
camps.
However, the increase in possession and trafficking of drugs
among high-ranking Party cadres in recent years indicates the group is lacking in efficacy. For
example, in early 2011, the wife of 9th Corps’ political division director was
apprehended in Chongjin Station with 2kg of “ice.” That same year, the director
of North Hamkyung Province’s SSD unit and the chief of the Chongam District
prosecution office in Chongjin City were each caught with more than 5kg of the drug in their possession.
The news has shocked residents, according
to the source, who explained that the Party secretary was known for his
frequent harangues equating dealing in drugs with treachery against the state.
“And to think, a burglar was the one who shined light on his bald-faced
lies–it’s hilarious,” he concluded.
* This article was amended on February 28, 2015. It previously stated that the drug could fetch 300,000 RMB per gram in China. The price is per kilogram.
