Police have arrested a Nigerian man for allegedly smuggling 15.9 kilograms of stimulant drugs worth about ¥957 million from Britain in September 2021, using his Japanese romance scam victim.
The joint investigation headquarters of Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department and the Okayama Prefectural Police arrested Ozo Chibuzor Chris, a Nigerian restaurant manager and resident of Tokyo's Setagaya Ward, on suspicion of violating the stimulant drugs control law.
The Tokyo police did not disclose whether the suspect admitted to the allegation.
According to police, the suspect's group pretended to be a British woman and contacted the Japanese man, who is in his 60s and lives in Okayama, on social media in October 2020. After exchanging messages for nearly a year, the group asked the Japanese man to go to Yokohama to pick up luggage.
The Japanese man agreed to receive it for "her," not knowing that the content was stimulant drugs. But he later refused to receive it, citing his health problems.
The luggage was discovered by customs officials at a quay in Yokohama.
According to police, similar cases of romance scam victims being tricked into helping smuggle illegal drugs continue to occur.