The Seibu Lions said Wednesday that a 30-year-old male employee was arrested by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police on April 4 for importing cannabis.
The employee, who was not named by the Pacific League club, was caught after customs at Narita airport detected the cannabis in the mail sent to him from the United States. He has been indicted and was released on bail on Friday.
The Lions said the announcement was made more than a month after the arrest “upon a strong request from investigators while cooperating fully with the investigations.”
The news comes in the wake of a string of scandals that have rocked Japanese baseball since last year, after four Yomiuri Giants pitchers received suspensions in November for betting on baseball games and former Lions and Giants star Kazuhiro Kiyohara was arrested in February for possessing stimulant drugs.
“It’s really regrettable this happened while everyone is trying to redeem the honor of the baseball world,” Seibu president Hajime Igo said.
