2 U.S. soldiers given suspended jail terms for smuggling cannabis

SUWON, South Korea, Dec. 13 (Yonhap) -- Two American soldiers have been given suspended prison terms for smuggling cannabis into South Korea from the United States, a court said Monday.

One of the soldiers was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison, suspended for 3 years, for hiding two cannabis cartridges in his baggage and flying to Incheon International Airport from Atlanta in April, the Suwon District Court said.

The other soldier received the same sentence for purchasing four cannabis cartridges and other cannabis products from an overseas website and attempting to smuggle them through an international flight in March.

The soldier was found to have again placed the same order for the drugs the following month after his first attempt was caught by customs authorities here.

"The gravity of the defendants' crimes is not light considering the difficulty of crackdowns on drug trafficking and the negative impact the distribution of imported drugs may have on society," the court said.

But the court added it determined the sentences after taking into consideration the fact that the defendants smuggled the narcotics to use them to sleep better and for other personal reasons, not for profit.

nyway@yna.co.kr
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