A Leader of Japanese Yakuza Pleads Guilty to Trafficking Nuclear Materials and Weapons
Takeshi Ebisawa, a leader of the Japanese organized crime syndicate yakuza, pleaded guilty on January 8, 2025, in New York federal court to charges of trafficking nuclear materials and conspiracy to traffic narcotics and heavy weapons. According to prosecutors, Ebisawa admitted to conspiring to traffic nuclear materials, including uranium and weapons-grade plutonium, out of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. Additionally, he plotted to purchase U.S.-made surface-to-air missiles and other heavy weaponry, intended for armed ethnic groups in Myanmar, and accepted large amounts of heroin and methamphetamine as partial payment for the weapons.
Ebisawa, 60, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum possible sentence of life in prison.