A Japanese ‘conman’ tried to sell an undercover DEA agent nuclear materials – but how did he get them?

Takeshi Ebisawa, identified as a leader in Japan’s Yakuza organized crime syndicate, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last week in New York for attempting to sell nuclear materials and narcotics. Ebisawa believed he was selling weapons-grade plutonium to Iran, alongside heroin from the Golden Triangle and rocket launchers. The transnational plot, which the US Drug Enforcement Administration had investigated since 2019, led to his 2022 arrest in New York with three Thai co-conspirators. This case highlights the intersection of organized crime and potential nuclear proliferation risks.