A 25-year-old marijuana trafficker who made 300 million yen in three and a half years.

We have imported buds (marijuana flowers) that you can’t get in Japan!

The trafficking group’s Twitter page was reportedly filled with such phrases.

On June 21, the Metropolitan Police Department’s Anti-Drug and Firearms Division arrested six men, including Shohei Miyamoto, 25, an unemployed suspect, on suspicion of violating the Marijuana Control Law. In November 2010, they were in possession of approximately 1.9 kg of dried marijuana in an apartment in Takenotsuka, Adachi-ku, Tokyo, for commercial purposes. It is believed that he was also cultivating marijuana in this room.

Miyamoto and the others called the room a “factory” and used it as a base for trafficking. They were drying marijuana with clothespins in the room. According to the police, the trafficking group smuggled in rare marijuana and sold five to six kinds by mail. It is believed that they made nearly 300 million yen in the three and a half years from April ’19 to November ’22.

Analysis of the smartphone of a man arrested in Fukui Prefecture for possession of marijuana revealed the involvement of Miyamoto and other suspects. It appears that a history of marijuana purchases and other information was sent via the highly anonymous “Telegram” communication application. The police have not revealed whether or not Miyamoto and the other suspects are involved.

In recent years, there has been a string of arrests of celebrities for illegal drugs, including Junnosuke Taguchi, Sei Tanaka, and Kento Nagayama, all former members of KAT-TUN.

The police are more vigilant about illegal drugs than ever before. However, dealers are becoming more sophisticated in their tactics, such as using “telegrams,” which allow them to remain anonymous. The game between the criminal group and the police is likely to intensify.

The police are investigating Miyamoto’s group as if there were more crimes to be committed.