Chiba prefectural police have indicted a 21-year-old Canadian man for attempting to smuggle 30 kilograms of stimulant drugs into Japan through Narita airport. The stimulants, with a street value of about 1.8 billion yen, are the largest amount of drugs found in a passenger’s luggage, Fuji TV quoted customs officials as saying.

According to police, the suspect, Jonathan Isabelle, was caught smuggling the drugs— wrapped in clothing—inside two of his suitcases by a Japanese customs official on Feb 17. Finding it strange that Isabelle was carrying lots of luggage, the customs official asked to check the suspect’s belongings and a sniffer dog detected the stimulants.

Isabelle, who was charged on Monday with violating the Stimulants Control Law, was quoted by police as saying he was promised a big reward to carry the suitcases, but claims he didn’t know they contained drugs.

© Japan Today