TOKYO (TR) – Kazuhiro Kokubo, a former Olympic snowboarder, has been accused of smuggling marijuana from the U.S., reports NHK (Nov. 6).
On Wednesday, Kokubo, 30, surrendered to an office of the Kanto Narcotics Control Department in Chiyoda Ward. He was accused of smuggling an unspecified amount of marijuana through the international postal mail last year.
Kokubo represented Japan in the halfpipe at the Winter Olympic Games in Turin in 2006. Four years later, he placed eighth in the same event in Vancouver.
Also in 2010, he took first place at the US Open Halfpipe. He repeated the feat the following year.
Kokubo is a mentor to Ayumu Hirano, who took the silver at the halfpipe at Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.
Kokubo was the subject of controversy prior to the start of the Games in Vancouver. On February 9, 2010, he was photographed at Narita International Airport with his uniform shirt untucked and his pants hanging low. He was later banned from appearing in the Opening Ceremony.
