A man who runs a notorious Japanese organized crime syndicate pleaded guilty last week to conspiring to smuggle nuclear material to Iran and American weapons abandoned in Afghanistan to Burma, according to federal prosecutors.
Japan's alleged Yakuza leader Takeshi Ebisawa, 60, was found guilty Wednesday in federal court in Manhattan of conspiring with a network of associates to smuggle nuclear materials, including uranium and weapons-grade plutonium, from Burma to other countries. I admitted it. He also pleaded guilty to international drug trafficking and weapons charges, the Justice Department announced.
Edward Y. Kim, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, acknowledged that Mr. Ebisawa “brazenly trafficked nuclear material, including weapons-grade plutonium, out of Burma” and that he also “worked to send large quantities of nuclear material.” ” he said. He supplied heroin and methamphetamine to the United States in exchange for large weapons such as surface-to-air missiles used on the battlefields of Burma, and laundered suspected drug money from New York. Tokyo. ”
Takeshi Ebisawa pled guilty to international criminal activity. (Southern District of New York)
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had been investigating Ebisawa since at least 2019, according to court documents and evidence presented in court.
During the investigation, federal prosecutors said Ebisawa was posing as an undercover Drug Enforcement Agency agent who was posing as a drug and weapons trafficker to his criminal associates in Japan, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka and the United States. He claims he unknowingly introduced him to an international network. Among other things, it was “for the purpose of arranging large-scale drug and arms transactions.”
Japanese crime boss charged by US prosecutors with conspiracy to smuggle nuclear materials to Iran
The superseded indictment alleges that Ebisawa and his network, including co-defendants, negotiated multiple drug and weapons transactions with the undercover agent.
Ebisawa allegedly conspired to broker the purchase of U.S.-made surface-to-air missiles and other large weapons for “multiple ethnic armed groups in Burma,” including unidentified leaders of “ethnic rebel groups.” to federal prosecutors. He also allegedly negotiated an agreement to accept large amounts of heroin and methamphetamine to distribute as part of the weapons payment.
The Justice Department said, “Mr. Ebisawa understood that the weapons were manufactured in the United States and were taken from a U.S. military base in Afghanistan.'' “Ebisawa planned to distribute heroin and methamphetamine in the New York market.''
In separate transactions, prosecutors said they also conspired to sell 500 kilograms of methamphetamine and 500 kilograms of heroin to an undercover agent for distribution in New York.
Ebisawa was also charged with laundering $100,000 in alleged drug proceeds from the United States to Japan.
Starting in early 2020, Ebisawa told undercover agents and confidential DEA sources that he had access to large amounts of nuclear material that he wanted to sell, according to court documents.
Later that year, Ebisawa sent secret agents a series of photographs “of rock material being measured for radiation with a Geiger counter,” as well as laboratory analysis showing the presence of thorium and uranium, according to court documents. be done. The Justice Department said the undercover agent, at Ebisawa's urging, agreed to help broker the sale of nuclear material to an associate posing as an Iranian general for use in the nuclear weapons program.
Prosecutors say Ebisawa then offered the alleged Iranian general “plutonium,” which would be “better” and “more powerful” than uranium for this purpose. That's what it means.
Ebisawa, along with two other co-conspirators, suggested to undercover investigators that the leader of a Burmese rebel group sell uranium through Ebisawa to an alleged Iranian general to use the money to buy weapons for the group. be done.
In a video call on February 4, 2022, one of Ebisawa's co-conspirators told an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agent and a leader of a Burmese rebel group that he had obtained more than 2,000 kilograms of thorium-232 and more than 100 kilograms of uranium. He is said to have said that it was possible. Compound U3O8 – A compound of uranium commonly found in concentrated uranium powder known as “yellowcake.” on court documents.
The nuclear sample, dubbed “yellowcake”, was seized with the help of Thai authorities. (Southern District of New York)
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He is said to have claimed that up to five tons of nuclear material could be produced in Burma. Prosecutors say they met several times in Southeast Asia to discuss ongoing deals.
During one of these meetings, one of Ebisawa's co-conspirators showed the undercover agent in a hotel room in Thailand two plastic containers, each containing a powdery yellow substance, which Ebisawa He described it as a “yellowcake” nuclear sample.
The suspect said one container contained a sample of uranium, the compound U3O8, and the other container contained thorium-232.
The samples were seized with the assistance of Thai authorities and subsequently transferred to the custody of US law enforcement agencies.
The Justice Department said the U.S. Nuclear Forensic Laboratory tested the samples and determined that both samples contained detectable amounts of uranium, thorium and plutonium. “Specifically, the Institute determined that the isotopic composition of the plutonium found in the nuclear samples was weapons-grade. This means that if produced in sufficient quantities, plutonium would be suitable for use in nuclear weapons. ,” the prosecutor added.
The superseding indictment included photographs of the nuclear samples seized. (Southern District of New York)
Ebisawa had been imprisoned in Brooklyn since April 2022, when he was arrested during a DEA sting operation on international drug and weapons charges. A superseding indictment was brought against him in February last year.
On Wednesday, Ebisawa pleaded guilty to six charges. The two counts of conspiracy to import drugs carry a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison. Other charges he admitted to include conspiracy to traffic in nuclear materials, conspiracy to traffic in nuclear materials, conspiracy to possess firearms, including machine guns and destructive devices, and money laundering.
Mr. Ebisawa's guilty plea means that “the Department of Justice will apply to the fullest extent of the law those who endanger our national security by trafficking weapons-grade plutonium and other dangerous materials on behalf of organized crime organizations. This should serve as a stark reminder that we must pursue accountability to the fullest extent possible,” Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department's National Security Division, said in a statement.
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DEA Administrator Ann Milgram said the investigation into Ebisawa and his associates “exposed the shocking depths of transnational organized crime, from trafficking in nuclear materials to fueling the drug trade to arming violent rebels.” ” he said.
