It was reported that an incident occurred recently in Hoeryeong, North Hamgyong Province, where five residents were arrested by security agents for drug use and Chinese cell phone use. This incident is considered very unusual in that two anti-socialist acts that the North Korean authorities are strongly urging to eradicate were discovered at the same time.
On the 8th, a Daily NK Hamgyongbuk-do source said, “On the 30th of last month, five residents who were gathered in one house in Hoeryong City were arrested by security agents at the same time.” “I was taken away,” he said.
The residents arrested this time were women in their 30s and 40s who were friends with each other. One of them was known to be a drug seller, two were Chinese mobile phone users, and two were known to be money changers.
While they were enjoying a year-end party by gathering at a resident’s house and inhaling 1 gram of Philopon prepared in advance, they were raided by security agents.
In particular, one Chinese mobile phone user had asked another Chinese mobile phone user to bring a Chinese mobile phone to the meeting to borrow, saying that he had to ask a Chinese trader to recharge the phone money. The source explains that even the phone call was caught.
Similar to South Korea, North Korea also has a culture of gathering together with close friends and holding a year-end party at the end of the year. In the past, it was common to spend time eating and drinking various foods and drinks, but recently, the culture of gathering together and taking drugs together has spread like a trend and is emerging as a social problem.
In fact, the residents who were caught this time also gathered together to inhale drugs, and a resident who saw them entering a house sensed something strange and reported it, leading to a raid on the site by security agents.
With the adoption of the ‘Crowd Reporting Act’ in North Korea in 2022, mutual surveillance among residents has been strengthened, and this incident is considered an example of North Korea’s internal situation.
Meanwhile, North Korean authorities regard drugs as a factor that paralyzes the mind and disrupts social order, and the use of Chinese mobile phones is considered an illegal information leak and is making all-out efforts to crack down on them.
The source said, “Drugs and the use of Chinese mobile phones are both issues that are taken very seriously here (North Korea), so punishments are being strengthened to the point where it is difficult to solve them through bribery.” “It is observed that this is the case,” he said.
He continued, “Currently, they are being investigated while detained, and since there are many people involved, the investigation is likely to take longer than other cases, so it remains to be seen what kind of punishment they will receive.” “It appears that the crackdown on will be further strengthened,” he added.
Source: www.dailynk.com
