OSAKA (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police on Monday announced the arrest of a 36-year-old manager of a fuzoku, or adult-entertainment, parlor for importing illegal sex enhancement drugs, reports TBS News (Oct. 19).
Koji Sakamoto is alleged to have received 45 small bottles of “poppers” drugs, including Rush Liquid Incense, via the postal mail from Great Britain in May and August.
On September 15, officers from the Kinki Narcotics Control Department seized 360 bottles of the drugs, which are considered illegal due to the presence of chemical compounds related to nitrous acid, during a search of the suspect’s residence.
The suspect sold each bottle for 7,000 yen, which approximately 10 times the original purchase price, to regular customers of his parlor. Over the past five years, he collected seven million yen in sales, according to the Mainichi Shimbun (Oct. 19).
The drugs are to be inhaled and produce a short-lived euphoric sensation.
“Since (the drug) was originally intended as a medicine for heart attacks, (usage) results in the expansion of the blood vessels, and there is a loosening of the muscles,” says Toshiyuki Takagi, a division head within the Kinki Narcotics Control Department. “Depending on the amount (used), one can experience labored breathing, lose consciousness or go into shock.”
Sakamoto, who has been charged with smuggling, admits to the allegations, telling officers from the department that he purchased the drugs over the Internet.
Classified as “dangerous,” the liquid drugs have been illegal in Japan since 2007.
