TOKYO (TR) – As a part of a crackdown on illegal drugs connected to musician Aska, Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Monday announced the arrest of a boss in an organized crime group, reports the Mainichi Shimbun (July 27).
On June 14, officers took Yoshiaki Mori, 57, the number-two boss in the Daisho-kai, into custody for the possession and use of 0.6 grams of stimulant drugs with a street value of 40,000 yen.
In September of last year, the Tokyo District Court handed Aska, 57, whose real name is Shigeaki Miyazaki, a suspended three-year prison sentence for possession and use of stimulant drugs.
Over the last 18 months, police have arrested 39 gang members and 33 customers on a variety of drug-related charges. As a part of the crackdown, officers have seized 1.5 kilograms of stimulant drugs (valued at 100 million yen) and 110 grams of MDMA (440,000 yen), which is also known as Ecstasy.
Last year, Aska told police that he had purchased illegal substances from the “Shinjuku Pharmacy,” which is a reference to the Daisho-kai office in the Kabukicho red-light district of Shinjuku Ward.
The Daisho-kai is an affiliate group of the Sumiyoshi-kai.