A Vietnamese woman and other Viets were arrested by the Niigata Prefectural Police on suspicion of smuggling methamphetamine with a street value of over 400 million yen.
Those arrested on suspicion of smuggling this methamphetamine included 38-year-old Vietnamese national Nguyen Thi Le Thu and a 42-year-old male company executive from Minami-ku, Niigata City.
The methamphetamine, dissolved into 19.78 kg of liquid, was packed into food cans and hidden within the arm of the excavator for transport.
After testing the concentration, it was estimated that the liquid contained approximately 6.4 kg of methamphetamine.
Customs officers at Yokohama Port discovered the methamphetamine while inspecting a container aboard a ship. The container was addressed to a location in Minami-ku, Niigata City, prompting a report to the Niigata Prefectural Police.
The approximately 6.4 kg seizure is the fourth largest methamphetamine bust in the history of investigations by the Niigata Prefectural Police.
