The lead singer of a clown-themed Iron Maiden tribute band has been arrested after he allegedly smuggled $7 million of drugs into Japan.

Daniel Burton Whitmore, who performs under the stage name Dicksee Diano, was arrested on December 11 at Narita International Airport in Tokyo.

The Powerclown singer was allegedly smuggling 9.8 kilograms of stimulant drugs which were concealed within the fake bottom of a guitar case and in multiple tea canisters.


Customs officers were initially suspicious of Whitmore after they noticed that he was sweating profusely after arriving on a flight from Vancouver.

The drugs were discovered after the unusual weight of the guitar case prompted customs officials to carry out a full X-Ray examination of Whitmore’s belongings.

When questioned, Whitmore reportedly told police: “I was supposed to carry a guitar case as requested by a Chinese-based person in Canada,I was scheduled to deliver it to a hotel in Narita City.”

Earlier in the month, he wrote on Facebook: “Are you an Asian drug dealer? Because you’re bringing me down …”

Are you an Asian drug dealer? Because you're bringing me down… Posted by Dan Scumm on Saturday, December 9, 2017

The band also confirmed his arrest in a statement posted on Facebook.


Bandmate Sketchy Klown wrote: “Flags are flying half mast at the Powerclown circus tent. I assure you, any frowns we are wearing are real. Painted on or not. All we can do is hope for the best for him. Clownery and parlour tricks, whether by him or us ain’t gonna do no good. Even with his voice, the voice of a songbird, and his velvet-painting-smooth charm, he wont be able to talk his way out of these hijinks, even if he did speak Japanese.



With regards to certain legal actions taken against a certain member of one of my clients, Powerclown, I hereby release… Posted by Powerclown on Wednesday, January 3, 2018

“While none of us clowns condone Dicksee’s actions, or recommend anyone else attempting something this foolish, we do hope for the best for our grease-painted pal. We hope that by some small…make that large…miracle, he somehow manages to slide into his cock-pink pants and dance himself back home to face this different form of music he has created for himself.

“We love you Dicksee. If you somehow make it back here, and we hope you do, we may even go easy on you. Maybe. No promises.”