Police have arrested a Turkish national on suspicion of trying to smuggle about 15 kg of opium, worth 150 million yen on the black market, into the country, police sources said Thursday.
The seizure is a record for opium, customs officials said, noting the narcotic is rarely smuggled into Japan.
The man, whose identity is being withheld, landed at Narita International Airport on Tuesday morning on a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul.
After immigration officials questioned the man on suspicion of possessing a false passport, customs officials checked his luggage and found the opium inside bags with false bottoms, the sources said.