TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a Korean actress for a performing troupe with ties to North Korea over the alleged possession of stimulant drugs in Shibuya Ward, reports the Sankei Shimbun (July 25).
On July 11, officers found Ahn Seong-ae, a 24-year-old member of the Kongo-zan Opera Troupe, and a male acquaintance, aged in his 30s, to be in possession of 1.6 grams of kakuseizai, or stimulant drugs, at his residence in the Maruyamacho area.
The contraband has a street value of around 100,000 yen. Officers entered the Shibuya residence as a part of another drug-related investigation.
Ahn, who is South Korean, denies the allegations. “[The drugs] are his,” she told the Shibuya Police Station in referring to her acquaintance.
However, investigative sources told TBS News (July 26) that an analysis of Ahn’s urine gave a positive result for stimulant drugs. “[He] invited me to use [stimulant drugs] several times,” she later told police in admitting to using the banned substances.
Established in 1935, Kongo-zan Opera Troupe is under Chongryon, an association for Korean residents in Japan that has ties to North Korea. The troupe uses its performances to spread traditional Korean music and dance.
The web site for the troupe has removed Ahn’s name from its site.
