US accuses Japanese mafia boss of trafficking nuclear materials to Iran

U.S. authorities charge a Japanese crime syndicate leader with conspiring to traffic nuclear materials from Myanmar

U.S. authorities have accused the leader of a Japanese crime mafia of conspiring to traffic nuclear materials from Myanmar for potential use in Iranian nuclear weapons.

Takeshi Ebisawa, 60, and his co-defendant Somphop Singhasiri, 61, engage in drug, weapons and nuclear material trafficking, with the expectation Iran would utilize the uranium and weapons-grade plutonium for nuclear weapons, according to Anne Milgram – who heads the Drug Enforcement Administration.  

U.S. officials suspect Ebisawa holds a senior position within the Yakuza transnational organized crime syndicate.

The nuclear materials were transferred from Myanmar to Thailand to an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent posing as a narcotics and weapons trafficker with connections to an Iranian general.  

The nuclear material was sourced from an unidentified leader of an “ethnic insurgent group” in Myanmar involved in uranium mining.

Legal officials claim Ebisawa suggested the leader sell uranium through him to procure deadly weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, from the general.  

Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen expressed concern over the potential consequences if these efforts were successful.

The two men faced charges in 2022 for international narcotics trafficking and firearms offenses following a DEA sting operation.

The latest charges are included in a superseding indictment.

The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday in federal court in Manhattan. 

 Source: Newsroom