Pong Su incident
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The Pong Su incident occurred during April 2003 when members of the Australian Special Operations Command intercepted and boarded the Pong Su, a 4000 ton North Korean ocean freighter in Australian territorial waters. The ship was flying the flag of Tuvalu at the time, known as flying a flag of convenience.
The reason for apprehending the ship was that it was suspected of being involved in smuggling almost 125 kg (275 pounds) of heroin into Australia.
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[edit] Pong Su
The Pong Su (퐁수) was a 349-foot (106 m) 4000 ton ocean freighter registered in Tuvalu and owned in North Korea. Searches of the ship by Australian authorities revealed the ship had been modified for long voyages and was carrying enough fuel and provisions to travel around the world without needing to port.
On April 16, 2003, police in Australia observed the Pong Su close to shore at Boggaley Creek near the seaside town of Lorne in Victoria and followed two Chinese suspects on the shore as they left the beach and headed for a near-by hotel. The next morning, the two suspects were apprehended at their hotel with 50 kg of pure heroin. Then, in a search of the beach at Boggaley Creek, Australian police discovered the body of a North Korean recently buried close to a dingy. It is probable that the dingy had capsized while bringing the heroin ashore, drowning one of the North Koreans. Police also apprehended another North Korean in the immediate area. Unable to get back to his boat, he had simply remained in the area where the drugs came ashore the night before. A third ethnic Chinese drug trafficking suspect was also taken into custody. A further 75 kg of heroin in similar packaging was discovered buried near Lorne in May 2003.
[edit] Four day chase - Operation Sorbet
The Australian government ordered the Pong Su into harbor, however the ship attempted to escape into international waters. After a four day chase, known as Operation Sorbet, the Pong Su was captured after Australian Army Special Operations Forces stormed the ship in a helicopter landing. The Pong Su was secured and brought into port in Sydney.
Some 30 men were arrested and detained, one who, according to Australian media reports, was a member of the North Korean ruling party who served as senior envoy in Pyongyang's embassy in Beijing.
It has been alleged that the North Korean government may have been involved in the manufacture and trade of the drugs. The North Korean government stated the ship was a 'civilian trading ship', and the ship's owner had no knowledge of the illegal cargo.
[edit] Drug charges
The ethnic Chinese suspects and the captain and crew of the Pong Su were charged with narcotics trafficking. Most significantly, an official of the governing Korean Workers' Party was found on board, linking the drug shipment to Kim Jong-il's government. The Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer called in the North Korean Ambassador to lodge a formal protest.
Drug charges were laid against the ship's entire crew. Twenty-seven crew members were discharged by a magistrate on the basis that there was insufficient evidence for them to stand trial. They were deported from Australia on June 24, 2004.
Four senior crew members were kept in Australia to face a jury trial. They were:
- Choe Dong-song (취동송), 61, the ship's political secretary
- Song Man-seon (송만선), 65, the ship's captain
- Lee Jin-man (이진만), 51, the first officer
- Lee Jon-ju (이존주), 51, the chief engineer
All four crew members pleaded not guilty at the beginning of their trial in August 2005. (Another four men - from Malaysia, Singapore and China, and not part of the ship's crew - had already pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the importation of a commercial quantity of heroin.)
The prosecution case against the four North Korean officers was that they would not have allowed their ship to be stopped in the position it was if they were not aware that the real purpose of their voyage was to smuggle the heroin. The prosecution did not allege any official involvement of the Korean Government, only the officers on board the ship.
On March 2, 2004, the US State Department released a report using the incident to link Kim Jong-il's government to drugs trafficking.
[edit] Acquitted
On 5 March 2006, a Supreme Court jury found the ship's four officers not guilty on all charges.
[edit] Fate of the Pong Su
On 23 March 2006, in a joint RAAF and RAN military exercise, the Pong Su was sunk by two 2000-pound (900 kg) laser-guided bombs dropped from RAAF F-111 aircraft. The deliberate destruction of the freighter was said to deliver a strong message to international drug smuggling rings that AFP and the Australian Federal Government would take all measures necessary to stop illegal drug importation.
[edit] Media Attention
The incident received large media attention. The incident was recreated in an episode of Forensic Investigators.
[edit] See also
- List of Korea-related topics
- Scuttling
- War on drugs
- Prohibition (drugs)
- Arguments for and against drug prohibition
- Drug possession
- Illegal drug trade
[edit] External links
- "Pong Su crew members deported", The Age, August 3, 2004.
- "North Korea - Pong Su", Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 27/07/2004.
- Australian Federal Police press release 27 May 2003
- "Pong Su chief 'knew of heroin'", The Age, August 5, 2005.
- "Ship crew 'risked lives to deliver heroin'", News.com.au, January 06, 2006.
- "Drug ship officers set free", News.com.au, March 06, 2006.
- "Drug freighter meets spectacular end", The Sydney Morning Herald, March 23, 2006.
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