[An Alleged Yakuza Leader Pleads Guilty to Trafficking Nuclear Materials
Takeshi Ebisawa, a 60-year-old Japanese national and alleged leader of Japan’s Yakuza crime syndicate, pleaded guilty in a New York court to conspiring with a network of associates to traffic nuclear materials out of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
Ebisawa allegedly worked to sell weapons-grade plutonium and uranium to someone he believed was an Iranian general who wanted the materials for a nuclear weapons program. He was caught in an undercover investigation by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 2021.
As part of the scheme, Ebisawa tried to sell the nuclear materials to someone he believed was an Iranian general, but the individual was actually an undercover DEA agent. Ebisawa also admitted to international narcotics trafficking and weapons charges.
The scheme is seen as a brazen attempt to traffic nuclear materials, including weapons-grade plutonium, out of Myanmar, which has been embroiled in a civil war since 2021. The country’s military regime has been accused of human rights abuses, and the international community has been concerned about the flow of illegal materials, including drugs and weapons, into and out of the country.
The case is seen as a significant blow to global efforts to combat transnational crime and nuclear proliferation. Ebisawa’s crime carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and his guilty plea is a reminder that the US Department of Justice will hold individuals accountable for imperiling national security by trafficking weapons-grade plutonium and other dangerous materials on behalf of organized criminal syndicates.
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