{
  "id": 818903,
  "title": "A deadly drug, Tapentadol, was found to have been smuggled into Korea through an international postal item sent from France.\n\nThe Korea Customs Service, under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said on Sunday that it had confirmed that Tapentadol, a Schedule 1 narcotic, had been detected in an international postal item that had arrived in Korea from France on April 13.\n\nThe parcel, which weighed 1.2 kilograms and was registered as “perfume,” was sent from the French city of Lyon and was delivered to a Korean address.\n\nCustoms officials analyzed data on the item and discovered that it contained 21.9 grams of Tapentadol, which is a highly addictive painkiller.\n\nThe parcel was seized on April 13 and an investigation is underway to determine who sent it and why.\n\nThe Korea Customs Service has not disclosed the recipient’s information, citing privacy concerns.\n\nTapentadol has been listed as a Schedule 1 narcotic by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.\n\nIt is the first time that Tapentadol has been confirmed to have been smuggled into Korea.\n\nThe Korea Customs Service has strengthened inspections on international postal items to prevent the smuggling of narcotics.\n\nIn 2020, 117 cases of narcotics smuggling through postal items were reported, up 35 percent from 2019.\n\nLast year, 153 cases were reported, up 31 percent from 2020.\n\nThe number of cases of narcotics smuggling through postal items has been rising in recent years.\n\nThe Korea Customs Service has urged people to report suspicious postal items to prevent the spread of narcotics.\n\nAnyone with information on narcotics smuggling can contact the Korea Customs Service’s Narcotics Smuggling Report Center.",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/13/story-818903",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-13T22:18:52.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hankyoreh",
    "slug": "hankyoreh",
    "url": "https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/area/capital/1272886.html"
  },
  "original_language": "ko",
  "account": null,
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}