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Tokyo cops: Yakuza smuggled drugs from China in chocolate cake

Park Myung Won
Park Myung Won

TOKYO (TR) – As a part of an ongoing investigation into the systematic smuggling of drugs hidden in confectioneries, Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested another organized crime member, reports TV Asahi (June 23).

According to police, Park Myung Won, a 63-year-old member of the Inagawa-kai, allegedly used express mail to import two kilograms of kakuseizai, or stimulant drugs, from China through Narita International Airport. The drugs, with an estimated value of 140 million yen, were concealed inside chocolate cake.

The package was addressed to a Korean confectionery store in Yokohama.

Park, who is a Korean national, denies the charges, telling police, “I’ve got nothing to do with it.” During the investigation, police have arrested 17 other persons, including other members of the Inagawa-kai. In March, an upper-level executive in the Yamaguchi-gumi was also apprehended, reports the Sankei Shimbun (June 23).

According to Fuji News Network (June 23), Park is believed to have been the ringleader for the operation once the drugs arrived in Japan.