Price Rises Encouraging Drug Smugglers

[Mulboyne]

Yomiuri: Overseas drug smugglers going big
A new method that enables a large amount of stimulant drugs to be smuggled into the country in one go has been introduced by groups suspected of belonging to Hong Kong-based crime syndicates, The Yomiuri Shimbun learned Tuesday...Previously, crime syndicates used numerous couriers, with each carrying a small package of drugs into the country...There was a major crackdown in May last year on domestic crime syndicates over the smuggling of a large volume of stimulant drugs from North Korea via boat. Since then, the street price of the drugs has skyrocketed and there has been a boom in the dealing of low-quality drugs. The MPD suspects Hong Kong crime syndicates are trying to take advantage of the increased demand for high-quality stimulant drugs. The syndicates allegedly mail unbleached drugs in large quantities and send their members to receive the packages, then bleach and sell the drugs in Japan...According to police, the wholesale price of a kilogram of high-quality stimulant drugs to dealers a few years ago was about 6 million yen to 7 million yen. This figure is said to have jumped to about 15 million yen as of last autumn...more...

[Iraira]

Yomiuri: .According to police, the wholesale price of a kilogram of high-quality stimulant drugs to dealers a few years ago was about 6 million yen to 7 million yen. This figure is said to have jumped to about 15 million yen as of last autumn[url=http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070808TDY02007.htm]...more...

That does it, I'm gonna buy a chemistry book, a few beakers, a few hundred packets of ephedrine-packed over-the-counter anti-histamine pills and quit my day job. Honey, fire up the bunsen burner! We be cooking.

[Mulboyne]

Alternatively...

Asahi: Smuggled drugs seized rise 8-fold

Police confiscated 101.4 kilograms of smuggled drugs during the first half of this year, about an 8-fold increase over the same period last year, National Police Agency officials said Thursday. Drug prices temporarily dropped to between 13 million and 8 million yen per kg, about one-third of prices late last year, due to increased smuggling of drugs.

[GomiGirl]

That does it, I'm gonna buy a chemistry book, a few beakers, a few hundred packets of ephedrine-packed over-the-counter anti-histamine pills and quit my day job. Honey, fire up the bunsen burner! We be cooking.

Tokyu Hands sells all the equipment - am not kidding. As a chemistry major I was really surprised to see their pyrex beaker selection.