Secret deal for atomic bomb: Japanese wanted to sell 50 tons of uranium to Iran

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It is said that he is not only a member of the Japanese mafia, the Yakuza, but also an illegal nuclear trafficker. The US has made serious accusations against Takeshi Ebisawa (60). He is to stand trial in a New York court on charges including conspiracy to commit international trafficking in nuclear materials. If convicted of the latest charges, he could face life in prison.

According to the indictment, the Japanese attempted to sell uranium and plutonium to an undercover agent of the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in 2020. The DEA agent had previously posed as a drug and arms trafficker with a connection to Iran.

An American laboratory examined the samples

Ebisawa therefore assumed that the materials would be supplied to Iran to build a bomb, the BBC reports. In the emails the 60-year-old wrote to the researcher, he allegedly sent photos of dark rock samples. Next to it was a blade device used to display the nuclear value. In total, he offered the researcher 50 tons of uranium and thorium for 6.85 million dollars (5.84 million francs).

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The material came from Myanmar and was seized and sent to a US laboratory for examination. And indeed: it was uranium and plutonium.

The Yakuza member is also accused of supplying weapons to a rebel group in Myanmar. These include surface-to-air missiles and assault rifles, as well as tactical equipment. “It is frightening to imagine the consequences if these efforts had been successful,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olden said in a statement. (mgf)

Source: Blick