GBL seized by authorities at New York John F. Kennedy International Airport [U.S. Department of Justice material]

An international drug trafficking ring that illegally imported large quantities of gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), the raw material for "water뽕" (a slang term for GHB) in Korea, and distributed it in the eastern United States has been apprehended by U.S. authorities.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia announced in a press release on the 7th (local time) that a federal grand jury in Washington D.C. had decided to indict 11 individuals associated with the GBL smuggling organization.

They are accused of operating in the Northeastern U.S. region, connecting New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C., from January 2023 to last month, and distributing California-sourced methamphetamine and Korean-sourced GBL.

The organization members allegedly established shell cosmetic companies in New York and Washington D.C. and then imported GBL by falsely declaring it as cleaning agents or beauty products.

It is understood that at its peak, the organization imported approximately 600 liters of GBL per month from Korea.

GBL is used as an industrial solvent, such as a component in nail polish removers, but it converts to gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), known as the "date rape drug" and colloquially as "water뽕," once it enters the body.

U.S. authorities, in cooperation with Korean investigative agencies, tracked the supply chain by traveling directly to Seoul.

During this process, five individuals, including a Korean businessman identified as Mr. Ahn, were arrested, and approximately 1.5 tons of GBL were seized, it was added.

In the United States, the investigation resulted in the seizure of over 35 kilograms of methamphetamine and approximately 800 kilograms of GBL.

This represents one of the largest GBL seizures in the eastern United States.