Two American women detained at Tokyo airport for allegedly smuggling $1 million worth of cannabis
Two 25-year-old American women were detained at Tokyo’s Haneda airport for allegedly hiding about 30 kg of cannabis worth roughly 150 million yen, one saying she was attracted by a free trip to Japan.
Tokyo police arrested two 25-year-old American women at Haneda airport after they arrived from New York with two suitcases allegedly packed with roughly 30 kg of dried cannabis, estimated at 150 million yen. Video released by Nippon TV showed more than a dozen packages seized as “cannabis-like” plants. One suspect told officers she accepted the job for the profit and because “I was attracted by the fact I could go to Japan for free,” whereas the other denied knowledge of the contents.
Investigators say the women coordinated with an unnamed individual they met through social media, receiving instructions remotely. They face charges under Japan’s drugs and psychotropics control law, smuggling for profit, and two other unspecified statutes, offenses that can carry up to ten years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to 3 million yen. The case underscores Japan’s strict drug enforcement regime.
Why it matters
The arrests highlight Japan's zero-tolerance drug policy and the risks of international smuggling networks.
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