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Osaka drug ring busted, thrived due to exclusion of yakuza

An anti-gang emblem in Osaka
An anti-gang emblem in Osaka
TOKYO (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police on Friday filed charges against the 62-year-old manager of a stimulant-drug operation that succeeded due to its exclusion of gangsters, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (Mar. 16).

On March 13, officers took Michiyo Nakata, 62, into custody after discovering 143 grams of stimulant drugs inside a one-room apartment in Naniwa Ward. He has been charged with violating stimulants control laws regarding possession with an intention to sell.

The estimated street value of the contraband is 11 million yen, police said. Officers also seized 190 syringes and 1.6 million yen in cash.

Nakata, who started the ring in January, told police that customers trusted his business since he had a strict no gangsters policy. “It is a safety first shop,” he said.

Investigators are now attempting to determine how the suspect obtained the drugs.