By Matthew Gault Published January 9, 2025 | Comments (0) | 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 Takeshi Ebisawa is done posing with rocket launchers, he's facing a lifetime in federal custody after pleading guilty to multiple guns, weapons, and nuke charges. In February of last year, Japanese Yakuza leader Takeshi Ebisawa entered our hearts when he posed with a rocket launcher for a photo. This year, hell be entering federal prison after pleading guilty to attempting to sell weapons-grade plutonium, drugs, and weapons to undercover federal agents.According to the Justice Department, Ebisawa is part of a large-scale criminal network that spanned Japan, Thailand, Bruma, Sri Lanka, and the U.S that moves drugs and weapons across South East Asia. Ebisawa was a known entity to the feds, who set up a sting operation to catch him. He wanted surface-to-air missiles left over from Americas war in Afghanistan that he planned to sell to armed groups in Burma. According to the feds, Ebisawa would partially pay for some of these weapons using amphetamine and heroin bound for the U.S. street market. 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. As part of the sting, Ebisawa tried to sell what he claimed was thorium and uranium to an undercover agent posing as an Iranian general. The Yakuza boss sent pics of a rocky substance next to a Geiger counter along with pictures of what he claimed were lab reports to the fake general. Ebisawa then offered to supply the General with plutonium that would be even better and more powerful than uranium for this purpose, the Justice Departments press release about the guilty verdict said.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. He provided samples and when the feds tested it they found that Ebisawa did, indeed, have weapons-grade nuclear material. He pleaded guilty to all six counts against him: conspiracy to traffick nuclear materials, actually trafficking the nuclear materials, money laundering, and three charges related to the drugs and firearms. A judge will determine sentencing, but the weapons charges alone carry a life sentence. Our investigation into Takeshi Ebisawa and his associates exposed the shocking depths of international organized crime from trafficking nuclear materials to fueling the narcotics trade and arming violent insurgents, DEA administrator Anne Milgram, said in a press release about the case. 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 material since 1993.In 2023, it reported 168 incidents in 31 states and said that it was in line with historical averages. But the nuclear power industry is growing. Russia, China, and the U.S. are in a new nuclear arms race. Nuclear weapons and power are big again and more nuclear means more points of failure, more complicated supply chains, and more places for nuclear material to get lost or stolen along the way.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Matthew Gault Published December 24, 2024 By Matthew Gault Published December 21, 2024 By Matthew Gault Published December 13, 2024 By Todd Feathers Published November 18, 2024 By Matthew Gault Published November 14, 2024 By Matthew Gault Published November 13, 2024