Foreign national caught with ketamine after fellow diner tips off police

A foreign national illegally staying in South Korea was arrested after a fellow diner overheard him discussing drugs at a restaurant and called police.

The Siheung Police Station in Gyeonggi Province said Sunday it had arrested a Vietnamese man in his 20s, identified only as A, on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act, and that he remains under investigation.

Police also detained four others of the same nationality, including a man identified as B, on charges of violating immigration law.

A is suspected of possessing a small amount of ketamine at a Vietnamese restaurant in Jeongwang-dong, Siheung, at around 11:50 p.m. Saturday.

His alleged offense came to light when another customer overheard him talking with B and others about drugs and reported it to police.

Officers were dispatched to the scene after receiving a 112 emergency call at around 9 p.m. that evening from a caller who said they had overheard people at a nearby table discussing drug use while dining.

Given the large number of customers present, police deployed more than 30 officers from the Siheung Police Station and the Gyeonggi Southern Police Agency's wide-area prevention patrol unit and conducted a search lasting about three hours.

During the search, officers found A in possession of a small amount of ketamine and administered a field drug test, which returned a positive result.

The four others detained alongside A, including B, were found to have no involvement in drug possession or use. Two were confirmed to be in the country illegally, and the remaining two were found not to be carrying their passports, leading to their detention as well.