US arrests Japanese yakuza leader over alleged missiles-for-heroin plot
Also: U.S. Attorney Announces Arrests Of A Yakuza Leader And Affiliates For International Trafficking Of Narcotics And Weapons, Including Surface-To-Air Missiles (U.S. Attorney's Office - Southern District of New York)
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Source: The Guardian and agencies
US arrests Japanese yakuza leader over alleged missiles-for-heroin plot
Takeshi Ebisawa accused of planning to purchase surface-to-air missiles for rebel groups in Myanmar and distribute drugs in US
Staff and agencies in New York
Thu 7 Apr 2022 23.20 BST
Last modified on Thu 7 Apr 2022 23.22 BST
US authorities have arrested a leader of a Japanese crime syndicate on charges of plotting to distribute drugs in the United States and purchase weapons including US-made surface-to-air missiles.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said Takeshi Ebisawa, who they described as a leader in a network of Japanese crime families known as yakuza, and a co-conspirator agreed to buy the missiles for rebel groups in Myanmar during conversations with an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agent.
The weapons were intended to protect drug shipments, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Thursday. Ebisawa planned to distribute heroin and methamphetamine in the United States, prosecutors said.
“The drugs were destined for New York streets, and the weapons shipments were meant for factions in unstable nations,” Damian Williams, the US attorney for the southern district of New York, said in a statement. “Members of this international crime syndicate can no longer put lives in danger.”
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/07/us-japan-yakuza-takeshi-ebisawa-crime-drugs-weapons
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Source: U.S. Attorney's Office - Southern District of New York
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 7, 2022
U.S. Attorney Announces Arrests Of A Yakuza Leader And Affiliates For International Trafficking Of Narcotics And Weapons, Including Surface-To-Air Missiles
Takeshi Ebisawa of Japan, a Leader Within the Japanese Transnational Organized Crime Syndicate Also Known as Yakuza, and Three Thai Affiliates, Allegedly Conspired to Arrange Large-Scale International Narcotics and Weapons Deals, Including the Acquisition
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Anne Milgram, the Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), announced today the arrests of TAKESHI EBISAWA, SOMPHOP SINGHASIRI, SUKSAN JULLANAN, a/k/a “Bobby,” and SOMPAK RUKRASARANEE, for international narcotics and weapons trafficking offenses. EBISAWA, a Japanese national, JULLANAN, a United States and Thai national, and RUKRASARANEE, a Thai national, were arrested in Manhattan on April 4, 2022. SINGHASIRI, a Thai national, was arrested in Manhattan on April 5, 2022. EBISAWA, JULLANAN, and RUKRASARANEE were presented before Magistrate Judge Jennifer Willis on April 5, 2022, and were ordered detained, and SINGHASIRI was presented before Judge Willis on April 6, 2022, and was ordered detained.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “We allege Mr. Ebisawa and his co-conspirators brokered deals with an undercover DEA agent to buy heavy-duty weaponry and sell large quantities of illegal drugs. The drugs were destined for New York streets, and the weapons shipments were meant for factions in unstable nations. Members of this international crime syndicate can no longer put lives in danger and will face justice for their illicit actions.”
DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said: “The expansive reach of transnational criminal networks, like the Yakuza, presents a serious threat to the safety and health of all communities. Ebisawa and his associates intended to distribute hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamine and heroin to the United States, using deadly weapons to enable their criminal activities, at a time when nearly 300 Americans lose their lives to drug overdose every day. These arrests represent the unwavering determination of the DEA, together with our U.S. and international partners, to target and bring to justice violent criminals who lead transnational drug trafficking organizations that continue to flood our country with dangerous drugs.”
According to the allegations contained in the Complaint charging the defendants, which was unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:[1]
Since at least in or about 2019, the DEA has been investigating EBISAWA, a leader within the Japanese transnational organized crime syndicate also known as Yakuza, in connection with large-scale narcotics and weapons trafficking. ...
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Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-announces-arrests-yakuza-leader-and-affiliates-international