Feb 16 (tokyoreporter.com) - Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested four persons, including an organized crime member, over the alleged smuggling of more than 100 kilograms of marijuana inside wooden doors, reports NHK.
In December of last year Tsuyoshi Shimozawa, a 53-year-old member of the Matsuba-kai living in Kuki City, Saitama Prefecture, and three other male and female suspects allegedly smuggled 106 kilograms of marijuana concealed inside wooden doors that arrived via a freighter from South Africa at the Oi Terminal in Shinagawa Ward.
According to the Osaki Police Station, the contraband, which was hidden inside doors measuring 80 centimeters wide by 2 meters tall, has an estimated street value of 600 million yen. It was discovered by customs officials upon arrival.
None of the suspects has acknowledged the allegations, which, police believe, is an effort to hinder the investigation, police said.
Police suspect that an intensified crackdown on so-called “dangerous drugs,†which have properties similar to narcotics, has resulted in traffickers increasingly attempting to smuggle marijuana into the country.
Source: ANNnewsCH
