The number of drug offenders nearly doubled over the past five years, with steep increases in those in their teens and 20s, data showed Wednesday.

Rep. Kang Seok-ho of the Liberty Korea Party released a statistics report on drug offenses in the country submitted by the National Police Agency on Wednesday.

According to the report, the number of people arrested for drug offenses increased from 5,105 in 2012 to 8,853 last year, and 5,115 were arrested in this year’s first half alone.

The number of drug offenders in their 20s more than doubled from 600 in 2012 to 1,327 last year, and 825 were arrested in this year’s first half.

The number of drug offenders in their teens also showed a considerable increase, from 27 in 2012 to 81 last year. Fifty were arrested in the first half of 2017.

“The platforms on which drug trafficking take place have grown expansive and diverse, penetrating into social media and chat apps,” said Rep. Kang, calling for more systematic measures to crack down on such offenses.

(mjk625@heraldcorp.com)