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Yakuza Leader Sentenced for Uranium Trafficking Scheme

3/6/2026

Summary

Story summary

Takeshi Ebisawa, leader of Japan's Yakuza, was sentenced to 20 years for trafficking uranium and plutonium from Myanmar.
He pleaded guilty to six charges, including conspiracy to commit international trafficking of nuclear material.
Prosecutors said he sought to sell weapons-grade materials and narcotics for an ethnic insurgent group in Myanmar.
In 2022, a Thailand meeting produced vials with uranium, thorium, and weapons-grade plutonium, confirmed by a U.S. nuclear forensic laboratory.

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Story summary

Takeshi Ebisawa, leader of Japan's Yakuza, was sentenced to 20 years for trafficking uranium and plutonium from Myanmar.
He pleaded guilty to six charges, including conspiracy to commit international trafficking of nuclear material.
Prosecutors said he sought to sell weapons-grade materials and narcotics for an ethnic insurgent group in Myanmar.
In 2022, a Thailand meeting produced vials with uranium, thorium, and weapons-grade plutonium, confirmed by a U.S. nuclear forensic laboratory.