Former Smuggler Who Trafficked 300kg of Meth Reveals Shocking Truths About North Korea’s Drug Trade

“I’ll tell you everything about my experiences.”

The elderly man we arranged to meet at a certain location in Adachi Ward was missing the upper joints of both his pinky fingers. Dressed casually in a T-shirt and cap, his sharp gaze and calm tone nevertheless conveyed a sense of tension to his listener.

“In North Korea, I was treated like a VIP at a military guesthouse. That country uses meth to earn foreign currency as a state policy, with the military directly involved in its production. I doubt there’s another Japanese person as familiar with North Korea’s meth scene as I am.”

His name is Yukio Aoyama, age 77. A former executive of a second-tier organization under the Sumiyoshi-kai, and a former meth trafficker. Once placed on Japan’s nationwide wanted list and even pursued by Interpol, this man was arrested for the attempted smuggling and possession of 300 kilograms of methamphetamine (worth 18 billion yen at the time) via the North Korean route.

There were several reasons Aoyama’s case drew public attention. It involved the second-largest seizure of meth in Japan’s history at the time (in 1998), was a smuggling attempt via the “North Korean route,” and ended with a strange twist — after 10 years on the run, he was arrested just three weeks before the statute of limitations expired.

In 2008, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison and served his time at Yokohama Prison. Since being released in November 2023, he has been living an ordinary civilian life.

Aoyama is deeply knowledgeable about the realities of meth production in North Korea, Taiwan, and elsewhere. He even once rented an island in the Philippines to attempt organized marijuana cultivation and smuggling. His confessions, drawn from firsthand experience in the world of drug crime, hold value both as a record and as a cautionary account.

“I’ve had heart surgery and I don’t have long left. I’ll tell you everything about my experiences.”

The former trafficker revealed his dramatic life story — part confession, part testimony.

He was born in Yubetsu, Akan Town (now Kushiro City), Hokkaido. He spent his early childhood in a coal-mining town before moving during elementary school to Sōka City, Saitama Prefecture, due to his parents’ work. After finishing junior high, he and his younger brother stepped into the world of organized crime.

At 17, he began living with a common-law wife, but life was harsh. Assigned to live in a gang office, forced to keep watch without sleep, he turned to meth to dull the exhaustion. By age 22, he discovered underground trades, mainly making a living through extortion and running illegal poker dens. Still, his cautious nature kept him arrest-free until after 35. But following two prison sentences for assault and meth possession, Aoyama’s ambitions shifted toward larger-scale ventures.

At 42, a younger associate — an International Christian University graduate fluent in English, French, and Thai — summoned him to Thailand, marking a turning point. In Bangkok, companies connected to the underworlds of various countries were scattered throughout the city. Using his status as a Japanese yakuza, Aoyama built connections with organizations in North Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and elsewhere.

The second part is here: [The Former Courier Who Smuggled 300kg of Meth Speaks Out — The North Korean Route and 10 Years on the Run with a Strange Ending]

 

From the June 6-13, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY”