Leader Of Japanese Gang Tried To Sell Weapons To Iran

(ConservativeSense.com) – Notorious Japanese gangsters tried to sell nuclear material to Iran, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). In a press release, the DOJ said it had previously charged Takeshi Ebisawa and Somphop Singhasiri with narcotics and gun trafficking offenses back in 2022, but the latest indictment could lead to life sentences following an undercover Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) sting.

Ebisawa allegedly told an undercover DEA agent that he had access to nuclear materials and sent the agent photos of “rocky substances with Geiger counters measuring radiation.” The agent then assisted Ebisawa to broker a sale with a DEA colleague posing as an Iranian General. The Japanese suspect furthermore sent federal agents a list of weapons he hoped to buy for a Burmese terrorist group. These included 5,000 AK-47s, a million rounds of ammunition, 25,000 magazines, mortar launchers, and surface-to-air missiles.

An investigation into the nuclear materials found uranium, thorium, and plutonium and determined that these were “suitable for use in a nuclear weapon.”

Mr. Ebisawa is currently held in a New York prison, along with his Thai co-conspirator, and they face charges including conspiracy to commit international trafficking of nuclear materials, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, and conspiracy to acquire, transfer and possess anti-aircraft missiles.

Prosecutors claim that Ebisawa is a senior member of an international crime syndicate, which is part of Japan’s underground criminal network known as yakuza. The group has reportedly changed direction in recent years and moved away from drug smuggling to weapons sales following a Japanese law enforcement crackdown on drugs, prostitution, and protection racketeering.

Criminal networks in Japan have experienced a demise since authorities zoned in on them in 2006. They had already suffered a rapid drop in numbers as young men were no longer willing to get involved, given the hefty prison sentences and increased government attention. Japanese crime expert Tomohiko Suzuki said gang members have to make dangerous and life-threatening sacrifices “for increasingly diminishing returns.”