WASHINGTON — The leader of a Japanese crime syndicate who was charged by US authorities with trafficking nuclear materials from Myanmar pleaded guilty on Wednesday (Jan 8), the US Justice Department said in a statement.

Takeshi Ebisawa, 60, of Japan, pleaded guilty in Manhattan, New York, to conspiring with a network of associates to traffic nuclear materials, including uranium and weapons-grade plutonium, from Myanmar to other countries, the Justice Department said. Ebisawa also pleaded guilty to international narcotics trafficking and weapons charges, the department added.

In February 2024, US authorities charged the Japanese "yakuza" crime leader with conspiring to traffic nuclear materials from Myanmar for expected use by Iran in nuclear weapons.

He was also previously charged in 2022 with international narcotics trafficking and firearms offences.

"As he admitted in federal court today, Takeshi Ebisawa brazenly trafficked nuclear material, including weapons-grade plutonium, out of Burma (Myanmar)," said Acting US Attorney Edward Kim for the Southern District of New York.

Related

---