Overview
- Tokyo Metropolitan Police and Tokyo Customs arrested a 59-year-old Hachioji resident on suspicion of importing the specified drug etomidate, and he denies the allegation, saying he intended to refuse the package.
- Authorities seized about 2,148.7 grams, which they describe as the largest etomidate seizure recorded in Japan.
- Investigators say the liquid was shipped from Thailand in four pump bottles disguised as body lotion, addressed to the suspect’s home and routed through Narita Airport.
- Tokyo Customs detected the shipment during import inspections on Nov. 28, triggering a joint investigation with the police Narcotics and Firearms Control Division.
- Police are examining possible ties to a designated organized‑crime group and estimate the haul’s value at over ¥20 million.