Japanese mafia boss arrested at Manhattan restaurant over deal to trade rockets for heroin: report

On Thursday, The Daily Beast reported that a boss of the Yakuza mob was arrested at a steakhouse in Manhattan over an alleged plot to trade rockets to foreign guerrilla fighters in exchange for heroin to be sold in the United States.

Takeshi Ebisawa was reportedly arrested amid a conversation in which the deal was discussed in code.

"Ebisawa, who referred to weapons as 'bamboo,' and drugs as 'cake' and 'ice cream,' in conversations monitored by federal agents, now faces a slew of charges including conspiracy to import narcotics, conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices, conspiracy to launder money, and conspiracy to acquire, transfer, and possess anti-aircraft missiles," reported Justin Rohrlich. "He appeared in court the day after his arrest, and was ordered detained by Magistrate Judge Jennifer Willis."

"The DEA began investigating Ebisawa in 2019, the complaint states," said the report. "That June, a paid DEA informant who served time for a marijuana conviction, met with Ebisawa in Tokyo to discuss a business opportunity. During the conversation, which federal agents had under surveillance, Ebisawa told the unidentified informant that 'a rebel group in Myanmar,' which investigators believe to be the United Wa State Army, 'was fighting against the government…and was looking for weapons,' it explains. 'Ebisawa also told [the informant] that the rebel group produced and could supply [the informant] with as much methamphetamine and heroin as [the informant] needed.'"

Ebisawa could face up to life in prison if convicted.

The Yakuza are an infamous Japenese-based crime syndicate, often described as the "Japanese Mafia". Many Japanese officials have been caught up in money laundering scandals with the group, earning it the nickname "Goldman Sachs with guns" in 2013.