'Smugglers' target US forces' alcohol

[Whitebeard]

Two South Korean men have been arrested on suspicion of stealing $1.7m (£1.2m) worth of beer and wine from the US military's main army base in South Korea.

An investigation is under way after a secret tunnel used by the alleged smugglers was found under the Yongsan base in Seoul.

It is thought 58,000 crates of beer and 4,000 boxes of wine were ferried from cargo containers inside the base to a coffee shop outside, built purposefully as a cover.

Acting on a tip off, investigators found an elaborate tunnel built on an incline and fitted with rollers to easily transport the heavy boxes.

"An anonymous caller notified police of the smuggling ring operations two months ago, and the two leaders were detained on Monday," customs spokesman Cho Min-ho told Reuters.

Coffee shop

The suspected smugglers reportedly used a van initially to transport the goods from the cargo containers inside the base.

They then allegedly opened U-Turn Espresso Coffee Shop on the outskirts of the base as a front for the scam.


Customs officials found a 20-metre (66 ft) tunnel leading all the way from the coffee shop to the cargo containers inside the base.
No American soldier has yet been implicated in the operation, although Sergeant Dawn Hart, of the US forces' public affairs office, said the case was under investigation.

The incident will be a major embarrassment to the US military whose bases in South Korea are supposed to be on high alert.

Around 37,000 US troops are stationed at bases in the country, where anti-US protests are relatively common and intrusions by North Korean commandos a threat.

Several underground tunnels built by North Korea as part of its Cold War invasion plans were discovered in the demilitarised zone that separates the two Koreas.