The DOJ alleges that a high-ranking member of the Yakuza, Takeshi Ebisawa, was the central figure in a plot to funnel American weapons to ethnic militias in Myanmar in exchange for heroin and meth. Ebisawa is charged with narcotics importation, money laundering and conspiracy to acquire surface to air missiles.
NBC News
A Japanese Yakuza leader pleaded guilty in New York federal court Wednesday to conspiring to traffic nuclear materials — including uranium and weapons-grade plutonium — from Burma to other countries, prosecutors said.
The Yakuza member Takeshi Ebisawa also pleaded guilty to international narcotics trafficking and weapons charges, according to the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The Yakuza is a Japanese organized crime syndicate.
Ebisawa, 60, admitted conspiring to broker to purchase U.S. made surface-to-air missiles and other heavy weaponry, intended for armed ethnic groups in Burma, and to accept large amounts of heroin and methamphetamine as partial payment for the weapons, prosecutors said.
Ebisawa faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum possible sentence of life in prison.
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