vlad.tribnet.com / Issue #529 / Crime watch / Reading article...

A South Korean citizen was arrested on July 29 by Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk police in a failed attempt to flee back to Seoul despite being detained and charged five days prior in connection with illegal import of medical equipment and drugs, customs officials reported on Wednesday.

The South Korean man was detained by customs at the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport on July 24 on grounds that he intended to import 15 boxes with medical equipment and drugs, a press statement from the Far Eastern Customs office said. Some of the imported drugs were on the list of hard drugs and toxic substances prohibited from free circulation within the territory of Russia. The man did not declare either equipment or drugs on arrival, the press statement indicated.

The Sakhalin Customs office launched a criminal investigation and notified the man about the charges brought against him. The drug importer refused to read the customs charges and tried to board a plane to Seoul. He was detained by police and placed under arrest in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

The investigators are exploring whether the man intentionally tried to import prohibited medical drugs or did so negligently, unaware of the drug import restrictions for Russia.