The Chiba District Public Prosecutors Office has indicted a 44-year-old Canadian musician on suspicion of attempting to smuggle approximately 9.8 kilograms of stimulant drugs into Japan by hiding them inside his guitar case.

Police said the stimulants had a street value of nearly 630 million yen.

The suspect, identified as Daniel Burton Whitmore, was charged with violating the Stimulants Control Law and the Japanese Customs Law, Fuji TV reported Friday. Police said the drugs were found beneath a false bottom in the guitar case after Whitmore arrived at Narita International Airport on a flight from Vancouver, Canada, on Dec 11.

According to the the Tokyo Customs Narita branch, Whitmore entered the country by stating his visit was for sightseeing purposes. Customs officers became suspicious of the musician when they noticed him sweating profusely, and because his guitar case seemed unusually heavy, prompting them to carry out an X-ray examination of his belongings. The stimulant drugs were discovered concealed inside his guitar case and multiple tea canisters.

Whitmore was quoted as saying he agreed to carry the drugs for an acquaintance because he was pressed for money and that he was supposed to deliver the drugs to a contact at a hotel in Narita City.

© Japan Today