Tokyo and Saitama police have detained six individuals on suspicion of smuggling ¥945 million ($6.1 million) worth of stimulants for profit by concealing the drugs inside a conveyor belt roller.
The suspects — including Mikio Kuramochi, a 76-year-old senior figure in the Sumiyoshi-kai crime syndicate in the city of Warabi, Saitama Prefecture — have been arrested under the stimulants control law, police said Tuesday. The identities of the other suspects have not been disclosed.
The Metropolitan Police Department has not disclosed whether the suspects have confirmed or denied the charges against them.
The investigation has extended to potential links between the suspects and a Mexican drug cartel.
According to police, the suspects allegedly hid approximately 15 kilograms of stimulants inside the conveyor belt roller to ship by air cargo from Mexico to Japan in June last year.
The drugs were discovered in the roller that was put inside a wooden box measuring 170 by 130 centimeters at Narita Airport, after customs officials grew suspicious and dismantled the roller for closer examination.