In the crosshairs of the US anti-drug agency DEA since 2019, the Yakuza was indicted in April 2022 for drug and firearm trafficking, alongside a co-defendant from Thailand, Somphop Singhasiri.
A member of the Japanese mafia Yakuza was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Tuesday in New York for international trafficking of nuclear material, drugs, and weapons, announced US judicial authorities. “Takeshi Ebisawa was held accountable for his crimes, including an attempt to sell military-grade plutonium to Iran and flood New York with deadly drugs,” praised John Eisenberg from the US Department of Justice’s National Security Division in a statement.
In February 2024, the Japanese individual was also accused of attempting to sell military-grade nuclear materials, heroin, and methamphetamine to purchase weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, for armed insurgent groups in Myanmar. He had interacted with undercover DEA agents. Takeshi Ebisawa, 61, pleaded guilty to six charges in January 2025. Upon his release from prison, he will serve five years under supervised release.
