Yakuza boss Takeshi Ebisawa, who tried to traffic nuclear weapons-grade plutonium, sentenced to 20 years in prison

Takeshi Ebisawa, described by U.S. prosecutors as a leader of the notorious Japanese organized crime world commonly known as the Yakuza, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to charges of trafficking nuclear materials, including uranium and weapons-grade plutonium, along with narcotics and weapons. Ebisawa, now 61, admitted conspiring with an international network of criminal associates to smuggle these materials out of Myanmar. He also admitted to orchestrating the purchase of surface-to-air missiles and other heavy weaponry for armed groups in Myanmar, accepting large quantities of heroin and methamphetamine as partial payment for the arms. He entered guilty pleas to a total of six counts in January 2025, before U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon, after having already been charged in 2022 with international narcotics trafficking and firearms offenses.

On March 3, 2026, Judge McMahon sentenced Ebisawa to 20 years in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Some of the offenses he admitted carried statutory maximums reaching decades or even life. “The illicit trafficking of nuclear materials is an existential threat to every New Yorker and every American,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton said after the sentencing, noting that Ebisawa “tried to sell uranium, thorium, and plutonium to fuel a purported nuclear weapons program, along with deadly drugs destined for U.S. streets.” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said Ebisawa had “been held accountable for his crimes, including an attempt to sell weapons-grade plutonium to Iran and to flood New York with deadly narcotics.”

Concerns Over Nuclear Proliferation

Ebisawa’s attempt to traffic nuclear materials raised serious concerns over their potential use in the development of nuclear weapons. Those concerns were sharpened by the fact that he was dealing in this material believing it would ultimately reach Iran—a nation with aspirations to develop nuclear capabilities. In communications with a confidential informant, Ebisawa claimed the uranium he had was “enriched” and destined for “nuclear weapons,” and after first offering uranium he proposed supplying “plutonium” that would be “better” and more “powerful” for the buyer’s purported program. The case is chilling evidence of the link between organized crime and nuclear proliferation, showing how criminal networks can exploit weaknesses in global security to access and move dangerous materials. The plot was exposed in an intricate investigation by undercover agents and a confidential source. In 2020, Ebisawa reached out to a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration confidential informant and said he had a large quantity of thorium and uranium he wanted to sell.

To prove the material existed, Ebisawa sent photographs of pebbly substances alongside Geiger counters registering radiation. He even offered to sell 50 metric tons of uranium and thorium for $6.85 million. The undercover agent, posing as an Iranian general, agreed to help broker the sale. Prosecutors said the nuclear material had originated with the leader of an ethnic insurgent group in Myanmar who had been mining uranium in the country.

Ebisawa’s Criminal Network

The investigation established that Ebisawa brokered the sale of uranium, thorium, and plutonium in exchange for advanced weaponry. His criminal network reached across Japan, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, and the United States. He worked with associates to negotiate large-scale narcotics and weapons deals intended to finance and arm militant groups in Burma while pushing drugs through New York. It is worth noting that while U.S. prosecutors repeatedly described Ebisawa as a Yakuza leader, journalist Jake Adelstein, a longtime chronicler of Japanese organized crime, has argued that Ebisawa may not have been a true Yakuza member and was instead more of a freelance confidence man, an account that complicates the “Yakuza boss” label even as the underlying trafficking conduct is undisputed.

Evidence Against Ebisawa

The case against Ebisawa was compelling. It included:

• A photograph of Ebisawa brandishing a stolen U.S. Army rocket launcher, taken at a warehouse in Copenhagen, Denmark, in February 2021 during a meeting with an informant and undercover Danish officers, clearly tying him to illegal arms trafficking.
• A screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation between Ebisawa and a co-conspirator showing images of heroin, confirming his participation in drug trafficking.
• Audio recordings of Ebisawa discussing nuclear weapons-grade material sales with an undercover agent, providing direct evidence of his intent to traffic nuclear materials.
• The seized “samples” themselves, displayed to the undercover team in Thailand in February 2022, which U.S. nuclear forensic testing later confirmed contained uranium, thorium, and weapons-grade plutonium.

International Cooperation

The investigation and successful prosecution of Takeshi Ebisawa underline the importance of international cooperation in combating transnational crime. The DEA worked alongside authorities in Thailand, Japan, and Denmark, with support from the Justice Department’s National Security Division and Counterterrorism Section, to foil Ebisawa’s plot and curb the proliferation of nuclear materials. That cooperation was essential to gathering the evidence behind his arrest in Manhattan in April 2022, where he had been jailed ever since alongside his Thai co-defendant, Somphop Singhasiri. Thai police, for instance, raided an office in Bangkok and recovered the uranium and thorium samples that Ebisawa and his co-conspirators had shown to the undercover agent.

Conclusion

Takeshi Ebisawa’s guilty plea and 20-year prison sentence mark a significant victory in the fight against organized crime. The case lays bare the dangers posed by the spread of nuclear materials and the critical need for international cooperation to confront them. The outcome sends a clear message that brokering nuclear materials, narcotics, and military-grade weapons will draw an uncompromising response from law enforcement.

Beyond the immediate implications of this case, Ebisawa’s actions serve as a wake-up call to the international community.

His case illustrates the growing nexus between organized crime, arms trafficking, and the threat of terrorism, demanding greater vigilance and cooperation among nations to prevent any recurrence. It reinforces the need for stronger security to thwart attempts by criminal organizations to acquire and trade dangerous materials, including nuclear substances that would pose a profound threat to international security. The case should renew calls to strengthen international legal frameworks, boost information sharing, and expand the capacity of law enforcement agencies to respond efficiently to such emerging threats.