TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Wednesday announced the arrest of two Brazilian men for allegedly smuggling large quantities of cocaine inside their systems last month.
According to police, the pair is believed to have swallowed dozens of pods of cocaine under duress from a drug trafficking organization. In the case of one of the suspects, the seizure was the largest on record for Tokyo, reports Jiji Press (Jan. 8).
The Brazilian suspects Carlos Alberto Almeida de Oliveira Netto, 23, and Jaílson Anjos dos Santos, 26, were arrested on suspicion of violating the Narcotics Control Act.
According to police, the two men are suspected of swallowing cocoon-shaped pills wrapped in plastic wrap and hiding them inside their systems in December. They then smuggled them from a Brazilian airport to Haneda Airport for the purpose of sale.
Almeida de Oliveira Netto is believed to have swallowed 165 cocoon-shaped cocaine balls weighing a total of 1,320 grams — with a street value of around 33 million yen) — the largest amount ever seized by Tokyo Metropolitan Police. Meanwhile, Anjos dos Santos is alleged to have swallowed 75 balls of cocaine totaling 700 grams and having a value of around 17.5 million yen.
Blindfolded in Brazil
Almeida de Oliveira Netto and Anjos dos Santos did not travel together. They both arrived at Haneda Airport in late December.
In response to questioning by police, Almeida de Oliveira Netto admitted to the charges. “A woman introduced me to a job,” he said. “So, I followed her. At a hotel in Sao Paulo, Brazil, she threatened to kill me, so I swallowed [the cocaine]. I heard screams and cries of ‘I’m swallowing [the cocaine], so don’t hit me’ from surrounding rooms in the same hotel.”
The suspect also said that he was blindfolded on the way to the hotel. After swallowing the cocaine, he was blindfolded again when he was taken to the airport.
Anjos dos Santos has reportedly denied the allegations, saying he “didn’t know it was cocaine.” But given the similar circumstances to those of his fellow countryman — for example, the existence of a woman in Brazil acting as the recruiter — police are continuing the investigation under the assumption that the two men may have been instructed by the same organization.
Smuggling from Brazil has been on the rise since last year, with a Brazilian man having been arrested and indicted in November last year for smuggling 70 cocaine balls inside his system.
Police are currently working to uncover the full picture of the organization behind the incident and the sales routes for the cocaine.
