Ebisawa was a known entity to the feds, who set up a sting operation to catch him.
The Yakuza leader also wanted to sell an additional 500 kilograms of meth and heroin as a separate transaction.
And then theres the weapons-grade nuclear material.
Takeshi Ebisawa posing with a rocket launcher during a meeting with two undercover agents from the Denmark Police (left) and a photo allegedly sent by Ebisawa showing plutonium with a Geiger counter (right)© Image: U.S. Department of Justice
Ebisawa claimed he had 2,000 kilograms of Thorium-232, more than 100 kilograms of uranium in its yellowcake form.
He promised he could get another five tons of nuclear material from his contacts in Burma.
A judge will determine sentencing, but the weapons charges alone carry a life sentence.
DEA remains positioned to relentlessly pursue anyone who threatens our national security, regardless of where they operate.
Protecting the American people from such evil will always remain DEAs top priority.
A prosecution of someone trafficking nuclear materials is incredibly rare.
The business is tightly controlled.
Only nine countries in the world have access to nuclear weapons and the nuclear power industry is heavily regulated.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has recorded only 4,243 incidents of illegal activities involving nuclear materialsince 1993.
But thenuclear power industry is growing.
Russia, China, and the U.S. are in a new nuclear arms race.
News from the future, delivered to your present.
DOJ says workers in the Philippines completed transactions manually.
