CHIBA (TR) – A 67-year-old Italian artist has been sent to prosecutors for attempting to smuggle 2 kilograms of stimulant drugs through Narita International Airport earlier this month, reports TV Asahi (Dec. 22).
According to prosecutors, Liberato Mazzarella was found by customs officials to have 2 kilograms of kakuseizai, or stimulant drugs, concealed inside a suitcase upon arrival at the airport on December 2.
The contraband has an estimated value of 128 million yen, prosecutors said.
“I was just transporting the suitcase, which was said to be a present from a business partner to an acquaintance,” the defendant was quoted in denying the allegations.
Mazzarella arrived at Narita from Turkey via a flight from an airport in Germany. The contraband was concealed in a hidden compartment built into a panel of the suitcase. It was discovered during an X-ray examination.
