A Nigerian man has been arrested in China.
The Nigerian accused of being a
leader of an international drug ring that led to the arrest of 12 South Koreans
abroad will be extradited to South Korea from China later Wednesday to face
drug smuggling and other charges, officials said.
Obioha Frank Chinedu, 41, is
accused of smuggling cocaine and hemp carried by South Korean travelers, mostly
young women, who were enticed by Chinedu's offers to pay all of their travel
expenses, Yonhap News Wednesday reported quoting officials at the Ministry of Justice.
The 12 Koreans - 10 women and
two men - were arrested in Britain, the Netherlands, Brazil and Japan, and were
sentenced to between three and five years and a half in jail. Prosecutors
believe Chinedu's arrest will help reduce sentences for the imprisoned Koreans.
"He use a common tactic by
drug rings: ''If you pass customs, I will give you money for travel'', Jin
Kyung-joon, an official at the ministry's international criminal affairs division,
was quoted as saying.
The suspect fled overseas with
a forged passport after prosecutors launched an investigation in 2002. He was
arrested the following year at an airport in Frankfurt, Germany, for drug possession,
but despite Korean prosecutors' request for extradition, he was transferred to
Denmark, where another smuggling case had emerged involving a Korean as part of
Chinedu's operation.
Chinedu escaped the Aarhus prison while awaiting trial in 2004, resurfacing in China where he was detained at Korea's request in 2007. A Chinese court ordered his extradition to Korea.
Officials said he approached
the Koreans as an American businessman and smuggled 30 kilograms of cocaine and
60 kilograms of hemp at a plant that can be used to make cloth, paper as well
as drugs.
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