Japanese Yakuza leader Takeshi Ebisawa has been charged with conspiring to traffic nuclear materials from Burma to other countries, federal prosecutors in New York said on Wednesday.
Ebisawa “and his confederates showed samples of nuclear materials in Thailand” to an undercover US agent from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), prosecutors said.
The US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan said in a statement: “With the assistance of Thai authorities, the nuclear samples were seized and subsequently transferred to the custody of US law enforcement.
“A US nuclear forensic laboratory later analyzed the samples and confirmed that the samples contain uranium and weapons-grade plutonium.”
In a statement, US Attorney Damian Williams said: “It is impossible to overstate the seriousness of the conduct alleged in today’s indictment.”
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According to the statement, Ebisawa and co-defendant Somphop Singhasiri were previously charged in April 2022 with international narcotics trafficking and firearms offenses.
Both Ebisawa and Singhasiri are due to be arraigned on the new charges before US District Judge Colleen McMahon on Thursday at noon.
Williams’ statement reads: “As alleged, Takeshi Ebisawa brazenly trafficked material containing uranium and weapons-grade plutonium from Burma to other countries.
“He allegedly did so while believing that the material was going to be used in the development of a nuclear weapons program, and the weapons-grade plutonium he trafficked, if produced in sufficient quantities, could have been used for that purpose.
“Even as he allegedly attempted to sell nuclear materials, Ebisawa also negotiated for the purchase of deadly weapons, including surface-to-air missiles.”
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The indictment against the defendants states that Ebisawa’s “criminal activities have included large-scale narcotics and weapons trafficking, and his international criminal network extends through Asia, Europe, and the United States, among other places.”
He has officially been charged with narcotics importation conspiracy and conspiracy to possess firearms, including machine guns and destructive devices.
Ebisawa faces a maximum possible sentence of life in prison.
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