Capita’s police arrest Japanese drug mafioso

Narcotic Drugs Control Law Enforcement Unit (NDCLEU) on Tuesday paraded an alleged member of Japanese drug mafia, who was recently arrested with contraband drugs from Tribhuwan International Airport.

Police investigation suggested that Japanese drug smuggler, Hirokazu Tamura, was a wanted man in his country in connection with his involvement in a series of crimes, including the operation of a drug racket.

“We have received information that Tamura, who is believed to be a member of Japan’s notorious Yakuja gang, is a wanted man in Japan,” said Deputy Inspector General of Police Ganesh Raj Rai, in-charge at NDCLEU.

NDCLEU said it is trying to collect detailed information about his past records from Interpol and Japan Police. Tamura is believed to have made his bases in Thailand and Nepal after his involvement in crime was exposed in Japan.

Acting on a tip-off, an anti-narcotics squad from the NDCLEU caught Tamura from TIA with 1.200 kg of hashish while he was about to board a flight to Bangkok.

“Our investigation indicated that Tamura had been operating an international drug syndicate from Nepal for a long time. He wanted to sell drugs worth up to 25000 US dollars in Europe’s illegal market,” said DIG Rai. Tamura’s passport shows he had visited Nepal for nine times apparently to smuggle the contraband drugs to various countries.

Rai suspects the involvement of Nepalis as well as foreigners in Tamura’s racket. “A manhunt is underway to nab other members of the syndicate,” said Rai.

Meanwhile, NDCLEU confiscated a huge cache of psychotropic substances worth Rs. 2 million with the arrest of an Indian woman and a Nepali man, who were on police’s most wanted list. The arrested, identified Rekha Prasad, 32, of Champaran in India and Bijaya Singh Rajput, 41, of Parsa, from whom the NDCLEU confiscated 3,792 pieces of Buprenorphine ampoules and 3950 pieces of Diazepam ampoules from Kalanki in the capital.