I won’t sell it unless you overdose”…Tohyoko “Panda” “Selling cold medicine to high school girls at a low price” startling lure.
He said, “I have your pills. Would you like to buy some?”
The man was selling a large quantity of over-the-counter medicines to high school girls.
On September 25, the Juvenile Development Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested Hiromu Takahashi, 22, an unemployed man with no fixed address, on suspicion of violating the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Law (unlicensed sales). He is alleged to have sold over-the-counter cold medicine and other products without a permit to three girls and other “Toyoko Kids” who gathered in Kabukicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo. The suspect, Takahashi, is said to be a well-known person in Kabukicho who goes by the name “Panda” and frequents “Toyoko.
The alleged incident took place on June 17 of this year. Takahashi allegedly distributed 440 anti-allergy pills free of charge to two 17-year-old high school girls and sold approximately 400 cough medicine pills to a man in his 20s for 10,000 yen. The high school girls are believed to have purchased the pills with the intention of overdosing on them and becoming agitated.
A week later, on June 24, the police took the high school girl who allegedly purchased the pills into custody on a separate case. Based on her statement and other information, the suspect Takahashi surfaced. When asked by the police, Takahashi denied the crime, saying, ‘I don’t remember.
I’ll sell it to you at the lowest price.
The photographer for this magazine photographed the suspect being sent to the police station on September 27. With long hair and a large mask covering his mouth, he got into the convoy without changing his expression.
This is not the first time Takahashi has been arrested. He was also arrested last November for the same crime and fined 300,000 yen.
From July to September last year, Takahashi sold 40 cold pills to teenage high school girls and boys for about 1,000 yen, less than half the regular price, at Toyoko. At the time, Takahashi told the police, “I have sold them to about 10 people so far. About 2,000 over-the-counter pills were found in his house.
Takahashi is alleged to have sold the pills without authorization with the following surprising lure: “I’m selling the cheapest around here. I’ll sell you the cheapest around here,” and “I won’t sell you the drugs unless you overdose. Overdosing on drugs is, of course, a dangerous practice. It is believed that Takahashi sold over-the-counter drugs in large quantities, knowing that they were dangerous.
Overdose can cause acute drug poisoning and liver damage. The police strongly warn that “lives are at risk.
PHOTO: Shinji Hasuo