Police have obtained an arrest warrant for a Russian gangster suspected of smuggling drugs from Russia and selling them to an Iranian organized crime group operating mainly in eastern Japan, police sources said Wednesday.
The 39-year-old Russian, who was not identified, is accused of smuggling opium and cannabis into Toyama Prefecture from Southeast Asia via Russia and selling the drugs to an Iranian crime group operating mainly in Gunma, Tochigi and Ibaraki prefectures, the sources said.
According to investigations, the man conspired with 44-year-old Russian sailor Ragim Ibragimov, arrested in June, to smuggle the drugs. He allegedly sold some 5 kg of cannabis resin to two Iranian men on Nov. 5 last year for 2.5 million yen. The cannabis had an estimated street value of 40 million yen.
Police believe the Russian belongs to a crime group that sells drugs mainly in Nakhodka in the Russian Far East, the sources said.