A man was arrested for allegedly burying drugs in a flower bed in a residential neighborhood in Seoul using what is known as the "dead drop" method, according to police.

The "dead drop" technique involves a dealer hiding drugs in inconspicuous places like mailboxes or air conditioner units in residential areas, which are then picked up by the buyer.

On Tuesday, the Korean National Police Agency posted a video titled, "Caught trying to bury something in a flower bed" on its official YouTube channel.

The footage shows police apprehending a drug suspect on Aug. 17 in an alleyway in Nowon District, northern Seoul.

In the video, a man is seen walking toward a flower bed in a quiet neighborhood, taking something from his bag and burying it in the soil.

A passerby who witnessed the act immediately reported it to police, saying, "He buried something in the ground -- it looked like drugs."

Suspecting that the man may attempt to commit similar acts nearby, police divided the area into zones and began searching. After a three-hour search, they located a man matching the witness's description. Inside the man's bag, officers found 28 packets of synthetic cannabis.

Police confirmed that what the man had buried in the flower bed was a vial of synthetic cannabis in liquid form. Investigators also discovered that he had already distributed 74 packets of synthetic cannabis at 75 locations across Gangnam District, Seocho District and elsewhere using the same dead drop method.

The man has been taken into custody on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]