A South Korean man who led one of the biggest drug rackets in Southeast Asia, with over US$5 million worth of transactions, was extradited to his homeland on Tuesday after his arrest in Vietnam two days earlier, South Korean police reported.

The drug baron, only identified by his surname Kim, arrived at South Korea’s Incheon airport on Tuesday, after his extradition from Vietnam, Yonhap News Agency cited the South Korean National Police Agency (NPA) report.

Kim, 47, who was detained in Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday, had been the subject of an Interpol red notice for supplying illegal substances, such as methamphetamine, through Telegram since 2018.

Kim’s arrest resulted from the coordination between the two countries’ police forces over the past three years, according to Yonhap.

“This is a great example of consistent policing cooperation with Vietnamese authorities to arrest the person in charge of one of the biggest drug trafficking rings based in Southeast Asia,” said Kang Ki-taek, director of Interpol and International Investigative Assistance Division at the NPA.

Kim was one of three major drug kingpins in Southeast Asia, Yonhap said, adding that the NPA previously arrested two others in Cambodia and the Philippines.

The NPA alleges that Kim trafficked illegal drugs worth around $5.3 million and led a ring with nearly 20 suppliers across the country.

The total amount earned from drug sales is expected to be higher when thorough investigations are concluded by the NPA after Kim’s extradition.

The drug lord was also allegedly involved in supplying drugs to the two other kingpins before their arrest, according to the NPA.

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