A Nigerian restaurant manager, Ozo Chibuzor Chris, has been arrested by a joint task force of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and the Okayama Prefectural Police on suspicion of violating Japan’s stimulant drug control law.
Chris, a resident of Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, is accused of using a romance scam to trick a Japanese man in his 60s from Okayama into smuggling 15.9 kilograms of stimulant drugs, worth approximately ¥957 million (US$8.7 million), from Britain in September 2021.
According to police, a group associated with Chris allegedly created a fake online profile posing as a British woman.
They then contacted the victim on social media in October 2020, exchanging messages for nearly a year.
The group reportedly asked the Japanese man to go to Yokohama to pick up luggage.
The victim, unaware of the illicit contents, agreed to pick up the luggage.
However, he later backed out due to health concerns.
The luggage was discovered by customs officials at a quay in Yokohama.
According to police, similar cases of romance scam victims being tricked into helping smuggle illegal drugs continue to occur.
Police, however, have not revealed whether Chris has admitted to the charges.
