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Big in Japan: $10,000 worth of marijuana gets misplaced by customs official at Tokyo-Narita airport
There are a million reasons to hate flying in the post 9-11 world. From rising fuel surcharges and increased airport delays to overzealous security agents and declining airline quality, spending some time at home isn't such a bad idea these days. Of course, if you want to encourage consumers to help stimulate the flailing airline industry, why not reward them with copious amounts of sweet and heady ganja?Are you ready for this one...
According to customs officials at Tokyo-Narita airport, the main international gateway serving Japan, an unwitting passenger arriving accidentally received 142g (approximately 5 ounces) of pure cannabis after a customs test went sour. Believe it or not, a Japanese customs officer hid the huge sack of weed in a side pocket of a randomly chosen suitcase in order to verify the quality of their airport security.
However, the drug-sniffing dogs were unable to find the hidden parcel, and the customs official (who may have been sampling a bit of the contraband) could not remember which bag he put it in! Like all drugs in Japan, marijuana is highly illegal, which means that a quantity of this size is estimated to have a street value of around $10,000 or 1,000,000 yen.
Anyone finding the package has been asked to contact customs officials immediately.
The man behind the botched operation is one Mr. Manpei Tanaka, who serves as
the head of customs at Tokyo-Narita airport. In typical Japanese fashion, Mr. Tanaka was extremely humble about the entire affair: "This case was extremely regrettable. I would like to deeply apologize."Of course, honorable words aren't going to make the situation any easier on the absent minded customs official as it is illegal to conduct tests on a passenger's bag.
According to Mr. Tanaka: "I knew that using passengers' bags is prohibited, but I did it because I wanted to improve the sniffer dog's ability. The dogs have always been able to find it before... I became overconfident that it would work."
So far there have been no reports of anyone uncovering the missing weed stash, though customs officials are confident that it will be returned to the airport within the next twenty-four hours.
While a good number of people in North America tend to have a relaxed attitude towards smoking a bit of reefer from time to time, the Japanese are extremely averse to drugs of any kind. And, while th
e massive baggy of pot is extremely valuable, it is hard to buy and sell drugs in Tokyo without arousing suspicion.So, I guess this brings up the simple question: if you were to discover some serious herb while unpacking your suitcase, what would you do with it? Feel free to chime in and share your thoughts with the rest of us!
(Special thanks to Julie Mac for sending this awesome bit of news my way!!)
** All images are courtesy of the WikiCommons Media Project. Also note that Gadling does not condone the smoking of marijuana unless it happens to be really kind bud. **
Filed under: Asia, Japan, Airlines, Big in Japan, Airports
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kyle Lyons May 26th 2008 11:45AM
Of course I would keep it!! That's like a years supply of herbage! But knowing these guys it's probably some schwag and not the "sweet and heady" ganja you so lucratively described.
Wow May 26th 2008 11:39PM
Okay, I just checked a Japanese news site for info on this. Apparently, it's actually five ounces of HASH (樹脂 - "jushi"=resin), and that's why the street price is so high. That's enough hash to last 20 years, so hopefully the person they so shamelessly planted it on is a Japanese citizen and is adventurous enough to try some. He'll have enough to last him decades if so.
JackMcGuirk May 27th 2008 3:25AM
I would invite some friends over, I'd invite some strangers over, I'd get some tasty veggie food cooking, roll up some blunts, and prepare for intellectually stimulating conversation! This is Fort Collins, Colorado where most people know how to live free.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-WPhkkPkEM
dj May 27th 2008 11:42AM
What if the person who is carrying the herbage gets caught by the coppers. The person tries to explain while he or she is being lead away in handcuff "honest it's not mine" The coppers say, "yea right I heard that before". How about a better story says the copper, "like some Japanese Costopms dude must have placed it in my suit case as a test for his personel." I could see a big lawsuit $$$$$$$
Ango Franko May 27th 2008 3:59PM
5 years worth?!?!?!
Two weeks tops...here in Canada
Nezbud Jun 4th 2008 12:08PM
5 ounces, $10,000? WHERE? i think this "estimation" is incorrect.
5 ounces isn't more than $3,000.
Theresa Jun 27th 2008 4:12AM
Who uses outside pockets? It probably hasn't even been found yet. Pity if the person tries to get on another flight and it is sniffed out then.
Anon Oct 30th 2008 1:32PM
wtf, i wanna meet the people who come up with these figures!!! hash = £300 - £350 per 9bar (9ish ounces!) thats less than $1000 for NINE ounces. for a little over half... thats still about £300 - £400.... the whole lot was worth like $1000 MAX.
people paying $10,000 for half a bar.... never!