A former senior gang member has been arrested for allegedly selling about 50 kg of stimulant drugs with a street value of 1.5 billion yen to the head of an underworld group in Tokyo, police said March 18.
Toshiharu Sugasawa, 60, allegedly sold the drugs to the 57-year-old leader of a gang based in Tokyo's Sumida Ward affiliated with Matsuba-kai. The sales took place on two occasions in April 1996 in violation of the Stimulant Drugs Control Law, police said.
The gang boss who bought the drugs has been sentenced to life in prison for the purchase and additional charges. Investigators suspect Sugasawa sold the drugs to the gang boss for 100 million yen, but the suspect has denied the allegations, police said.
In May 1996, the Metropolitan Police Department and Osaka Prefectural Police arrested nine gang members in Tokyo and Osaka on suspicion of violating the stimulant drug law. Sugasawa had been on a nationwide wanted list since 1996. He was traced earlier this month and arrested, police said.