U.S. National Security and Iran

A New York federal court has sentenced 61‑year‑old yakuza leader Takeshi Ebisawa to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to six counts, including attempting to sell weapons‑grade nuclear material and large quantities of methamphetamine and heroin to undercover U.S. agents posing as an Iranian general and his associate. Prosecutors say that between 2020 and 2022, Ebisawa claimed access to uranium, thorium and plutonium mined in Myanmar by an unnamed insurgent group, sent photos of radioactive ore with Geiger counters, and offered plutonium as 'better' and more 'powerful' than uranium for Iran’s use, while simultaneously brokering a 500‑kilogram heroin and 500‑kilogram meth deal and laundering $100,000 in purported drug proceeds from the U.S. to Japan. U.S. lab analysis of samples obtained in the sting confirmed the presence of uranium, thorium and weapons‑grade plutonium, meaning sufficient quantities would have been suitable for nuclear‑weapon use. Ebisawa and his Thai co‑defendant Somphop Singhasiri were arrested in Manhattan in April 2022 after a long DEA investigation that used a confidential source and undercover officers in multiple countries. Justice Department national‑security chief John Eisenberg said the case shows how U.S. agencies are targeting transnational criminal networks that seek to mix nuclear contraband with narcotics and arms trafficking.