KANAGAWA (TR) – Kanagawa Prefectural Police have sent a 24-year-old U.S. sailor to prosecutors over the alleged smuggling of narcotic drugs into Japan from Canada, reports the Asahi Shimbun (May 14).
On two occasions in December of last year and this past January, the midshipman, who was not named, allegedly sent 18 grams of two types of narcotic drugs, including MDMA, or Ecstasy, through the postal mail from Canada to Japan via Narita International Airport.
The sailor, who is assigned to the nuclear-powered supercarrier USS Ronald Reagan, which is deployed to United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka in Kanagawa Prefecture, has declined to comment on the allegations, according to police.
The parcels were addressed to the suspect’s residence outside the Yokosuka base. The contraband was seized upon discovery by the Yokohama branch of Japan Customs, police said.
During a search of the suspect’s residence and other locations, police found what are believed to be narcotics and other banned substances.
The U.S. Navy is also undertaking an investigation into the suspected sale and use of illegal drugs by about a dozen sailors at the Yokosuka base. The 24-year-old sailor is among those under investigation, police said.
