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Friday May 12, 7:28 PM2ND LD: N. Korea ship raided on suspected drug violations, 3 men held(Kyodo) _ (EDS: ADDING MORE INFO)Japanese police searched a North Korean ship that arrived at a western Japan port shortly after noon Friday, hours after the police arrested three men for allegedly smuggling amphetamine stimulant drugs into Japan in 2002. About 10 investigators from the Tokyo police boarded the North Korean freighter Turubong-1, which arrived at Sakai port in Tottori Prefecture along the Sea of Japan coast. The ship is suspected of being used to smuggle stimulants to Japan in October 2002. The arrests and raid came amid growing calls in Japan for imposing sanctions against North Korea because of a stalemate in talks over the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by the North. North Korea has also been under international fire for alleged involvement in illicit activities such as currency counterfeiting and drug smuggling. Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said at a news conference, "We will tighten controls against North Korea's illegal activities, including drug smuggling." One of the men arrested was identified as a South Korean national, Woo Si Yun, 59, who is believed to be the owner of a mobile phone recovered from a North Korean spy ship that sank in the East China Sea in 2001 after an exchange of fire with Japanese patrol vessels. The police suspect Woo played a central role in the alleged drug smuggling. Another was a Japanese national, Katsuhiko Miyata, 58, a member of a gang group affiliated with a major underworld syndicate, the Kyokuto-kai. The police later arrested a third suspect, Osamu Gonda, 54, a fishing boat operator from Yonago, Tottori Prefecture. The police also obtained arrest warrants for other members of the Kyokuto-kai in connection with the case. All three men have denied allegations that they smuggled several hundred kilograms of amphetamines in October 2002, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. Besides the North Korean freighter, the investigators raided a fishing boat and Woo's home in the city of Ina, Nagano Prefecture, in central Japan. The suspects allegedly conspired to load the Turubong-1 with several hundred kilograms of amphetamines in North Korea. On Oct. 9, 2002, the suspects are thought to have used a fishing boat to recover the stimulants which were released into the sea off Shimane Prefecture and to have brought them to Yasugi port in the prefecture, also along the Sea of Japan coast. The police said Woo allegedly arranged the import of amphetamine drugs, Miyata took charge of the delivery of the drugs, and Gonda skippered the fishing boat to recover them. The three men are also suspected of smuggling about 200 kg of amphetamine stimulants that reached ashore in Tottori Prefecture in November 2002, the police said. The moves came after Japan's ruling coalition submitted in late April to the Diet a bill that requires the Japanese government to impose economic sanctions on North Korea if it fails to make progress in addressing its human rights situation, notably the abduction of Japanese nationals. The measures under the bill include banning North Korean ships from making port calls in Japan and taking financial action under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law, if no improvement is seen in North Korea's human rights situation. Woo, who is suspected of links with the North Korean spy ship that sank in 2001, was sentenced in August 2004 to two and half years in prison plus a fine of 500,000 yen after being found guilty of charges that he exported stolen cars to North Korea. A cellphone recovered from the spy ship, which sank after an exchange of fire with Japan Coast Guard patrol vessels, contained call records, including Woo's cellphone number and telephone numbers of his relatives, Japanese police sources said. The ship, about 30 meters long and weighing around 44 tons, sank on Dec. 22, 2001, in the East China Sea off Amami-Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture after the shoot-out. Japan says the ship engaged in espionage or drug-running, while North Korea denies having any connection with the ship. Japan's stimulants control law sets penalties of life imprisonment or more than three years in prison for those who have smuggled stimulant drugs for profit. |
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