77kg of meth seized in 3 AirbnB meth labs from Viet-American

[TennoChinko]

Tokyo police find drug labs in residences of American; ¥5 billion in stimulants seized
March 29, 2018
https://www.tokyoreporter.com/2018/03/2 ... ts-seized/


Tokyo police found equipment used for the production of stimulant drugs in three residences of an American national in December (Twitter)

TOKYO (TR) – An anti-organized crime division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police have applied fresh charges of manufacturing stimulant drugs to a male American national already in custody on suspicion of smuggling nearly 5 billion yen of the same contraband, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Mar. 27).

Over a one-week period through December 13, 2017, Matthew Hoang, 25, is alleged to have possessed frying pans, pots and other equipment used for the manufacture of kakuseizai, or stimulant drugs, in three residences in Minato and Ota wards rented on a short-term basis.

rest of story here...

[matsuki]

....and so begin the arrests for "equipment used for the production of stimulant drugs" when police find foreigners with pots and pans. I can see it now "Obviously this equipment was for nefarious purposes, men don't cook."

[Russell]

Only Vietnamese cooking will be illegal.

But given that it is one of the top cuisines in the world, I find that problematic.

[wagyl]

Russell, I think you are stretching that argument a little phở.

[matsuki]

What's next? Pakuchi banned as an illegal substance...fuel for drug traffickers or something. We Japanese would never eat such a spice.

On a more serious (or maybe not?) note, why do these clowns continue to use the postal service for this stuff? It seems like every year there is some FG in the news, arrested to shipping drugs through the mail?

[wuchan]

What's next? Pakuchi banned as an illegal substance...fuel for drug traffickers or something. We Japanese would never eat such a spice.

On a more serious (or maybe not?) note, why do these clowns continue to use the postal service for this stuff? It seems like every year there is some FG in the news, arrested to shipping drugs through the mail?

In other parts of the world UPS and FedEx are used to ship small amounts of drugs. The companies have arrangements with most governments to bypass customs so they can offer next day air services. Japan is super anal about these things and almost everything gets inspected. It's pretty common for drug dealers in the US to ship coast to coast using UPS. Their volume is so large it is literally impossible for them to inspect anything. That bomber guy in Texas was using FedEx to ship his bombs. They only figured it out when one was accidentally triggered in a sort facility.

[matsuki]

[apan is super anal about these things and almost everything gets inspected.

This is my point. 90~95% of my shipments from various countries have been opened the past several years. There not exactly a lack of news in English of all these people getting busted here for drug shipments either...

[Wage Slave]

[apan is super anal about these things and almost everything gets inspected.

This is my point. 90~95% of my shipments from various countries have been opened the past several years. There not exactly a lack of news in English of all these people getting busted here for drug shipments either...

Really? I would say less than 5% of my shipments have been opened. 100% have likely been checked by one method or other but very rarely are they actually opened. On the rare occasion they are, they are resealed very neatly and carefully.

However, they are checked and anything detected that remotely warrants further investigation gets investigation so yes you would have to be very very stupid to attempt to smuggle.

[matsuki]

[apan is super anal about these things and almost everything gets inspected.

This is my point. 90~95% of my shipments from various countries have been opened the past several years. There not exactly a lack of news in English of all these people getting busted here for drug shipments either...

Really? I would say less than 5% of my shipments have been opened. 100% have likely been checked by one method or other but very rarely are they actually opened. On the rare occasion they are, they are resealed very neatly and carefully.

However, they are checked and anything detected that remotely warrants further investigation gets investigation so yes you would have to be very very stupid to attempt to smuggle.

Yes, and previously it was more like 20~30%. Some of the stuff I import probably looks dangerous on the X-ray scans? Either way, never been called up or investigated for any of it. Just find it a bit silly how much they've increased their efforts in he past few years when I get waved through customs with a smile when I arrive back from kaigailand, pushing what amounts to a kei-car....sometimes 2.

[Russell]

In the decades I have lived here all 100% the packages sent to me by my old man have been opened by Japan Post consistently. It may have had something to do with the fact that he had the same first name as I, but still I found it a bit ridiculous. I would expect them to develop a list of suspicious persons over the years whose packages need to be opened. Then again, maybe I am such a suspicious person.

And indeed, in airports, I can always pass, at least so in the last decade.