US arrests gang leaderYakuza and 3 Thai people in chargeheroin smuggling and international weapons sold to ethnic armed groups in Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
On April 8, 65 Al Jazeera website Report. The US Department of Justice released a statement. US officials Conducting the arrest of Mr. Takeshi Ebizawa, 57, the head of a transnational organized crime syndicate. Known as the yakuza gang, and three Thai men, Somphop Singhsiri, 58, Sompak Raksaranee, 55, and Suksan Julnan, 53, were charged with heroin smuggling. and drug ice, as well as trying to procure US-made anti-aircraft rockets sent to sell to various ethnic armed groups in Myanmar and the Tamil Tiger Elam separatist group in Sri Lanka.
The US Department of Justice also said the four suspects were arrested in New York. On Monday, April 3 and Tuesday, April 4, 2022 in charge ofdrug smugglingsmugglinginternational arms trade and money laundering charges
Damian Williams, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York stated in the statement that These drugs are being sold on the streets of New York. While the weapons are smuggled and sold to various armed groups. in an unstable nation Mr Williams also said the men had been under investigation by US Drug Enforcement Administration officials in Thailand since at least 2019 while preparing large quantities of heroin and ice cream from the drug dealers. The Wa State Army (UWSA), which has a border with China
Mr. Ebizawa plans to buy automatic firearms, rockets, machine guns to sell to the Wa State Forces. and the Karen National Union Army, KNU and the Shan State Army.
On Feb. 3, 2021, Mr. Ebizawa and one of his accomplices traveled to Copenhagen. capital of denmark which officials of the US Drug Enforcement Administration and two Danish police disguised as arms dealers. to sell a variety of military weapons to Mr. Ebizawa which the US official also showed evidence Ibazawa holding a rocket launcher including the Stinger rocket During this meeting
The indictment also said that during the investigation Mr Ebizawa had told US Drug Enforcement Agency officials. Disguised as Mr. Suksan, a former general of the Royal Thai Air Force, while Mr. Somphak is a retired Royal Thai Army officer.
While the Al Jazeera website states that the US Department of Justice It did not explain how the four men came to the United States, and the maximum penalty for international drug and arms trafficking in the United States is life imprisonment.
source: Aljazeera