Man arrested for smuggling 240 kgs of drugs from Canada

It makes you wonder how many large shipments get through. There is obviously quite a market for the drugs in Japan.

The drugs were shipped on Dec 30 in 240 zipped plastic bags packed in 20 boxes of frozen shrimp, the department said.

What happened to the shrimp? 'Confiscated' by the police, perhaps?

I’m glad he was caught.

*The department said it served a fresh warrant on Tateyama in February for allegedly hiding around 240 kg of the drugs, with the help of an unidentified co-conspirator, in a container on a ship in Vancouver. The drugs were shipped on Dec 30 in 240 zipped plastic bags packed in 20 boxes of frozen shrimp, the department said.*

I think the word they were looking for was "snitch"! It also makes you wonder what lead the snitch to rat out this guy?

Who cares? Drug dealers and smugglers are among the lowest of the low. They profit off of the death and misery that their "product" inflicts on so many people. They literally destroy people's lives for money.

And no, this is not a "nonviolent crime." It's very violent. These people get their "customers" addicted to their "product," and the death and misery that results is indeed very much a form of violence.

So, who cares why the "snitch" turned him in? Let's just be glad that he's behind bars.

It makes you wonder how many large shipments get through. There is obviously quite a market for the drugs in Japan.

There is a huge market for drugs in Japan. Take a stroll through Kabukicho and you can see evidence of this beyond the huge shipments bound for Japan.

Wow, as a Canadian living in Japan find it offensive that type Canada in big letters when the man arrested is a native Japanese who happens to have Canadian residency.

The article says he is a Canadian citizen:

Yoshiya Tateyama, a 56-year-old Canadian national

It came from Canada, shipped by a Canadian citizen, it would seem weird to censor that from the article.

with the help of an unidentified co-conspirator, in a container on a ship in Vancouver.

From Vancouver...

Oops! This will be my last post for a while... I'm outta here!

With such an obviously Canadian name I don’t think there’s any need to stipulate that the drug smuggler Tateyama Yoshiya is not a Japanese national. Aye.

Who cares? Drug dealers and smugglers are among the lowest of the low. They profit off of the death and misery that their "product" inflicts on so many people. They literally destroy people's lives for money.

And it wouldn’t happen if drugs were legalized and regulated. Some people just want to continue living in a cave though.

An ACTUAL drug arrest deserving of criminal prosecution and press coverage for once, instead of all the hoopla that usually surrounds the "crime" of possessing an infinitesimal amount of cannibis.

It still amazes me that people can't see the difference between the two events.

And it wouldn’t happen if drugs were legalized and regulated.

But they're already legal and regulated. It's called a prescription. These stimulants are just prescription strength synthetic drugs cooked up in homemade labs.

And it wouldn’t happen if drugs were legalized and regulated. Some people just want to continue living in a cave though.

Absolutely. Cut out the middle man, end the cartels and - for all the capitalists out there - think of how much money can be made from honest farmers to the govts which will take a huge cut.

Everyone's a winner.

And for the moralists - it's escapism. And in this horrid era, that's what everyone does. Be it football, religion, movies, hiking, travel, having a few beers etc.

Everything in moderation, natch.

Hopefully they will be able to work out where this stuff was manufactured, and rip up the whole supply line.

Hopefully they will be able to work out where this stuff was manufactured, and rip up the whole supply line.

So they can be re-established? You don’t really think that will solve any problems, do you? We’ve been trying that method for the past 50 years and it’s been strikingly effective.

But they're already legal and regulated. It's called a prescription. These stimulants are just prescription strength synthetic drugs cooked up in homemade labs.

Drugs that can be obtained with a prescription are referred to as medicine. I was saying legalizing recreational drugs is the only way to remove the harm from recreational drugs.

A national is not always a citizen. In the US the two words are not synonymous, but they may be in Canada.

You're right, I was mistaken. I thought it referred only to a citizen:

noun.

a citizen or subject of a particular nation who is entitled to its protection

Who cares? Drug dealers and smugglers are among the lowest of the low. They profit off of the death and misery that their "product" inflicts on so many people. They literally destroy people's lives for money.

I think society should care when poisons are being distributed illegally as well as above board by drug dealers, smugglers, manufacturer, doctors giving out prescriptions, pharmaceutical companies with clever marketing and the government.

Whether you agree or not providing more information on drugs (including recreational use) should help one decide what's good and bad.

Everyone knows the North Koreans flood Japan with the trash, made with metric tons of raw chemical supplied by china.

US population spends $150 Billion on illegal drugs yearly. How much Japan?.

There is obviously quite a market for the drugs in Japan.

He has admitted to most of the charges.

All the ones except the smuggling?

Vancouver is world #2 exporter of stimulant drugs like ecstasy, crystal meth, glad the Japanese custom can confiscate such big load, of which may only represent 10% of the drugs being sneaked into Japan. North America has been world's #1 drug junkies with overdose death easily surpassed 30,000 per year. Hope Japan will take strict measure.

That's a lot of hooch!

The article says he is a Canadian citizen:

A national is not always a citizen. In the US the two words are not synonymous, but they may be in Canada.

You're right, I was mistaken. I thought it referred only to a citizen:

We’ve actually has this exchange before. That said, it’s nice to see another person that admits when they are incorrect; it’s a rarely on this internet thing.

I fail to see how a country like Japan would benefit from a sudden social acceptance of drugs.

They don't have to be and likely wouldn't be socially accepted. Neither do they have to be sold like liquor or tobacco. Rather the equivalent of a pharmacist could be created, packaging could have warning labels, and rehabilitation could be provided for those who use it.

Japan does have a drug culture. It's small, and very underground, but it most definitely does exist. These people should not be criminalized. And the criminalization leads to a black market - which is the topic of this article. This guy was smuggling large amounts of unregulated, and untested drugs, to be distributed with no warnings, and no direction to get help. By people who will go to jail if they get caught with it.

It seems like the snitch got upset because he didn't get a bigger cut!

And the criminalization leads to a black market - which is the topic of this article. This guy was smuggling large amounts of unregulated, and untested drugs, to be distributed with no warnings, and no direction to get help.

Data from many of the countries and states which have legalised cannabis show that cheaper illegal black market dealers continue to supply the majority of demand. I doubt that government regulated meth labs are going to be any more cost competitive.

Rather the equivalent of a pharmacist could be created, packaging could have warning labels, and rehabilitation could be provided for those who use it.

How many recreational Fentanyl or Oxycodone pills do you suggest as the weekly per person limit? Are they going to be free or prohibitively expensive? Who is going to pay for the theft and property crimes commited by addicts looking to finance their next hit? Who is going to pay for the addiction treatments? Are you still going to criminalise people who sell their allotment to others?

Yoshiya Tateyama, a 56-year-old Canadian national

Did he say he was sorry?

Absolutely. Cut out the middle man, end the cartels and - for all the capitalists out there - think of how much money can be made from honest farmers to the govts which will take a huge cut.

Everyone's a winner.

Really? Do you trust your government to control it in a proper way if/when pharmaceutical industry is involved?

Data from many of the countries and states which have legalised cannabis show that cheaper illegal black market dealers continue to supply the majority of demand. I doubt that government regulated meth labs are going to be any more cost competitive.

Exactly. I do not know about stimulant but for look at medial cannabis cost in the UK for example? I've no idea how they are made but BBC reports "Medical cannabis costs family £4,000 a month to help teenager".

Educate and decriminalise according to the view of the society I would say.

Just legalize it and it won't be a crime, violent or nonviolent.

I was saying legalizing recreational drugs is the only way to remove the harm from recreational drugs.

You can certainly argue that decriminalisation can help in treating people once a drug epidemic is already widespread (Portugal being the best example) but I fail to see how a country like Japan would benefit from a sudden social acceptance of drugs. The rates of use are still so low that decriminalisation (let alone full legalisation) would likely result in tens of thousands of curious people who would otherwise never have experimented with drugs getting addicted or dying of overdoses. Decriminalisation and legalisation are not panaceas. They are just tools of last resort to be deployed in specific situations.

The department said it served a fresh warrant on Tateyama in February for allegedly hiding around 240 kg of the drugs, with the help of an unidentified co-conspirator, in a container on a ship in Vancouver. The drugs were shipped on Dec 30 in 240 zipped plastic bags packed in 20 boxes of frozen shrimp, the department said.

I think the word they were looking for was "snitch"! It also makes you wonder what lead the snitch to rat out this guy?

Lock him up for 20 years minimum.

Drug trafficking is a scourge and no excuses or cries of 'entrapping foreigners by the corrupt Japanese justice system' malarkey.

"We’ve been trying that method for the past 50 years and it’s been strikingly effective."

Effective[sic?] or ineffective...?

For those of you who’s answer to drugs is legalize it...

you cannot legalize drugs that may kill you even with a single dose. How will these drugs be administered is there any quality control who will determine and regulate the dosage, prescription and distribution of these drugs what about liability production licensing

Do you understand the effort needed to legalize a single drug it has taken so long for marijuana to become legal and There is still no consistency with state and federal law....

nevertheless a drug like cocaine which causes severe long term health problems cannot become legal...

“just think before you speak”

you cannot legalize drugs that may kill you even with a single dose. How will these drugs be administered is there any quality control who will determine and regulate the dosage, prescription and distribution of these drugs what about liability production licensing

That's the point - these drugs don't have any of this now. And people die as a result.

Regulation needs to be brought in so that people don't have to worry that the meth they bought is tainted with deadly fentanyl.

nevertheless a drug like cocaine which causes severe long term health problems cannot become legal...

It both can and should. The harm to society from prohibition is worse than the drug itself. Or do you like black-market drug cartels in the world?

Somebody's about to have one hell of a party! /s

Canadian national from Kagoshima Prefecture

Please explain. I am confused.

What's a lorry? Do you mean a truck? lol!