Yakuza Leader Charged by Feds for Nuclear Materials Trafficking
TL/DR –
Takeshi Ebisawa, a leader in the Japanese Yakuza crime syndicate, has been charged by federal prosecutors in the US with conspiring to traffic nuclear materials from Myanmar to other countries. The indictment alleges Ebisawa was attempting to sell these materials to Iran for the creation of a nuclear weapon. Ebisawa is also charged with narcotics importation, money laundering, and conspiracy to acquire surface-to-air missiles.
Japanese Yakuza Leader Charged with Trafficking Nuclear Material
US prosecutors have accused Japanese Yakuza leader, Takeshi Ebisawa, of a plot involving illegal trade of American weapons, narcotics, and nuclear materials. Ebisawa, allegedly a high-ranking member of the Yakuza, is charged with trafficking nuclear materials from Myanmar to other countries, including Iran, for the construction of a nuclear weapon. If convicted, Ebisawa faces life imprisonment.
Ebisawa and his accomplices reportedly showed nuclear material samples in Thailand to an undercover agent from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Believing that the agent had access to an Iranian general, they intended to sell 50 metric tons of uranium and thorium for $6.85 million. With Thai authorities’ help, the samples were seized and transferred to US law enforcement custody. A US nuclear forensic laboratory confirmed that the samples contained uranium and weapons-grade plutonium.
US Attorney Damian Williams characterized the alleged conduct as extremely serious, stating that Ebisawa “brazenly trafficked” the nuclear material with the understanding that it would be used to develop a nuclear weapons program. Additionally, he was negotiating for deadly weapons, including surface-to-air missiles.
The indictment reveals that the Yakuza leader’s criminal activities include large-scale narcotics and weapons trafficking. His international criminal network is said to extend through Asia, Europe, and the United States.
Alongside Ebisawa, 61-year-old Somphop Singhasiri has been charged. Both defendants were previously accused of international narcotics trafficking and firearms offenses in April 2022. They are set to be arraigned on the new charges in Manhattan federal court.
The Yakuza’s Global Criminal Network
The Yakuza is a notorious Japanese organized crime syndicate. In early 2020, Ebisawa allegedly told another individual and a DEA confidential source that he had access to a large quantity of nuclear materials, including uranium, for sale. He subsequently sent photos of a dark rocky material with a Geiger counter, a device used to measure radiation.
—
Read More US News