Drugs sold on dark web drug sales website are displayed at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office in Seocho District, Seoul, July 26. Yonhap

Prosecutors have indicted 16 drug dealers on charges of circulating marijuana and marijuana products worth 860 million won ($620,558) on Korea's only drug sales website operating on the dark web, officials said Friday.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said the 16 drug sellers and supplier were charged with circulating 7.8 kilograms of marijuana as well as synthetic marijuana and liquid marijuana cartridges on the website from July 2022 and last month.

They were apprehended while prosecutors tracked down a Korean-language online drug shopping website operating on the dark web, Korea's only one, which had nearly 4,000 members.

On the open market-style website, drug sellers placed advertisements after an initial registration cost of 1.5 million won, received payments from drug buyers in virtual currencies and delivered the products without contacting the buyers.

During the recent two-year period, the suspects allegedly conducted at least 759 drug transactions, prosecutors said.

They were also found to have smuggled drugs worth 900 million won, cultivated marijuana and produced liquid marijuana on their own.

Prosecutors also confiscated 4.4 kg of marijuana and other kinds of illegal drugs from them.

Officials said their investigation will continue to track down the operator and users of the website, and locate its server to shut it down. (Yonhap)