“Antihypnotic Drugs from NK`s Ship“

The stimulant drugs (150 kg, estimated value of 9 billion yen) that Japan`s Coast Guard Service and the Police confiscated from the Chinese ship off the Fukuoka city coast in Kyushu on the night of the 6th seem likely to have been made in North Korea.

The 7 Chinese crew members who were arrested testified that they "departed from Shanghai and received the stimulant drugs from a ship from the North on the sea."

The Japanese investigation authority alluded that the stimulant drugs were produced in the North saying "The confiscated stimulant drugs are very similar in its color and purity to the drugs previously smuggled in from North Korea." The antihypnotic drugs in 100 small plastic bags were hidden in the cabin.

The investigation team collected information about this ship from China and had taken a vigil over the ship since the ship entered into the Japanese territory. Japan`s Coast Guard mobilized 6 ships to the spot and waited for another ship that would hand over the stimulant drugs. However, since other ships did not appear, the Japanese Coast Guard enforced a search of the ship and found the stimulant drugs. The Chinese ship was tugged to Hakita Harbor.

The Police is also looking into the question of whether there might be a large criminal syndicate in Japan that was planning to receive this antihypnotic drugs.

ksshim@donga.com