A group that smuggled some 180-billion won, or over 135-million U.S. dollars worth of cocaine that was being processed and distributed in the country, was caught and arrested by the Coast Guard.

The Central Regional Coast Guard's Narcotics Investigation Team announced on Monday that it arrested three people, including a Canadian drug organization member and a local dealer, on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act, marking the first arrest involving drugs being smuggled to be processed in the country.

The 55-year-old drug organization member is accused of smuggling 60 kilograms of liquid cocaine into South Korea from overseas via a container transport ship.

The investigation found that the liquid cocaine smuggled in was processed into solid form at a factory in Gangwon Province, where the suspect was found to have visited the processing factory a total of nine times over the past two months since April.

The local dealer was apprehended during an undercover operation on August 10 near Banpo Hangang Park as he was attempting to sell cocaine, which led to the arrest of the smuggler and another suspect.