A suspected high-ranking member of the Yakuza criminal organization has pleaded guilty in a New York court to charges of trafficking nuclear materials, narcotics, and weapons as part of an international conspiracy uncovered through a years-long undercover investigation.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Takeshi Ebisawa, 60, a leader within the Japanese criminal syndicate with global reach, was exposed during an operation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Ebisawa attempted to sell uranium and weapons-grade plutonium sourced from Myanmar to an undercover agent posing as an Iranian general seeking material for Tehran’s nuclear weapons program. The proceeds from the sale were intended to fund the supply of missiles to Myanmar.
Ebisawa was arrested in New York in 2022, along with several associates, as they tried to negotiate a weapons deal. Initially charged with drug trafficking and arms sales, additional charges were filed by 2024, including conspiring to sell nuclear materials and procuring heavy weaponry for insurgent groups. The indictment alleged the planned arms deal included surface-to-air missiles intended for use in Myanmar.
“As he admitted in federal court today, Takeshi Ebisawa brazenly trafficked nuclear material, including weapons-grade plutonium, out of Burma (Myanmar),” Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Kim of the Southern District of New York said in a statement. “At the same time, he worked to send massive quantities of heroin and methamphetamine to the United States in exchange for heavy-duty weaponry such as surface-to-air missiles to be used on battlefields in Burma.”
The Yakuza, a Japanese transnational organized crime syndicate with a history spanning over 300 years, now operates globally and is notorious for crimes including human trafficking, drug trafficking, money laundering, and so-called white-collar crimes such as embezzlement and extortion.
