SHIZUOKA (TR) – Kanagawa Prefectural Police have arrested three men, including an Iranian national, for allegedly manufacturing a massive quantity of illicit methamphetamine pills for profit at a storage yard in Fuji City, reports Nippon News Network (Sep. 30).
According to police, the suspects — including Mohammadi Ali, 42, and two other Iranians, aged 40 and 57 — are accused of producing at least 450 kakuseizai (methamphetamine) tablets at a yard in Fuji City between 2024 and last year.
Police did not reveal whether the suspects admit to violating the Stimulants Control Law regarding the production of tablet-form methamphetamine.
During a search of the premises, investigators uncovered heavy machinery imported from China. Police believe the trio used the equipment to press the tablets, which were stamped with various illustrations and logos.
The illicit enterprise appears to have been highly organized. Authorities intercepted messages exchanged between the suspects confirming their daily manufacturing operations. Furthermore, raids on other associated properties yielded a stash of over 40,000 additional methamphetamine pills.
Police are investigating an Iranian group led by Ali, believing they maintained multiple bases across the country to engage in the smuggling, manufacture, and sale of illicit drugs.
The arrest is the not the first for Ali.
Last October, police conducted a search of the yard in Fuji City and seized items including several tens of kilograms of powder suspected to be methamphetamine and between 40,000 and 50,000 tablets likely containing the drug.
The following month, police accused Ali of violating the same law regarding possession for commercial purposes.
The tablets — some of which bore the imprints of anime characters — had a street value exceeding 2 billion yen, police said.
Ali has also been indicted for violating the Opium Control Law.
