TOKYO (TR) – A male career bureaucrat with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in custody over the alleged possession of stimulant drugs has also been found to be in possession of syringes, investigative sources have revealed, reports Jiji Press (May 9).
According to a previous report, a customs official discovered 22 grams of kakuseizai, or stimulant drugs, inside a plastic bag concealed between pages of a fashion magazine that arrived by air mail at Narita International Airport from the U.S. on April 15.
Tetsuya Nishida, a 28-year-old section manager in an automobile division at METI, subsequently claimed the package containing the contraband, which has a street value of 1.32 million yen.
In the latest development, police on Thursday revealed that a search of the suspect’s work desk at METI revealed several syringes.
Police are investigating whether Nishida was using stimulant drugs while at work for METI.
Upon his arrest on April 27, Nishida denied the allegations. However, the suspect later changed his story. “I was taking psychotropic drugs prescribed by a doctor because of work stress. I opted for stimulant drugs due to the stronger effect,” he said.
