10-6-2023 (TOKYO) The Japan Customs and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police announced on the 7th the successful joint operation to crack down on an international drug smuggling case, resulting in the arrest of four Chinese nationals. Reportedly, Japan seized approximately 700 kilograms of suspected methamphetamine powder, marking it as the second-largest drug bust in a single case in Japanese history. According to Kyodo News, investigators revealed that the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and the Tokyo Customs discovered the 700-kilogram shipment of suspected methamphetamine powder in a shipping container that originated from the United Arab Emirates and transited through China before arriving in Tokyo by sea during the spring season. The estimated street value of the narcotics is a staggering 43.4 billion Japanese yen (approximately 9.55 billion New Taiwan dollars).
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police stated that they have arrested the four Chinese nationals for violating the Stimulant Control Law and the Cannabis Control Law. The suspects, ranging in age from 35 to 51, reside in various locations including Tokyo, Yokohama, and Kawasaki City.
According to law enforcement officials, two of the suspects were apprehended due to suspicions of their involvement in a drug smuggling operation, where they allegedly collaborated with others to conceal the methamphetamine in shipping containers bound for Japan via China. The shipment was unloaded at the Port of Tokyo on March 5. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police suspects the involvement of an international smuggling syndicate and is currently conducting further investigations.
The largest seizure of methamphetamine in a single case in Japan’s criminal history took place in 2019 when the Tokyo Metropolitan Police uncovered a drug smuggling operation on a beach in Minamiizu-cho, Shizuoka Prefecture. At that time, authorities confiscated approximately one ton of smuggled methamphetamine with an estimated street value of 60 billion Japanese yen (approximately 13.2 billion New Taiwan dollars) and arrested and prosecuted a Chinese national. Prior to that, the largest drug seizure in Japan was in 2016 when 600 kilograms of narcotics were discovered on a yacht in Naha, Okinawa.
