Tokyo customs make what is believed to be Japan’s largest bust of ketamine

A couple with their dogs sit on the shore of a seaside park to watch an airplane land at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Thursday, June 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

TOKYO — Tokyo police and customs have made what is believed to be their biggest bust of the anesthetic drug ketamine, brought through Haneda airport in two suitcases.

On Friday Tokyo customs officials said they filed a criminal complaint against a French woman on suspicion of attempting to smuggle into Japan about 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of ketamine in a suitcase.

The suspect, whom the officials identified as a 21-year-old cook, was caught at the Haneda airport customs after arriving on a flight from Germany in April, officials at Tokyo Customs said.

The drug found in the suitcases has a street value of about 920 million yen (US$8.8 million), according to Japan’s NHK television.

Ketamine is a powerful anesthetic approved by U.S. health regulators for use during surgery. It can be given as an intramuscular injection or by IV.

The drug is used recreationally for its euphoric effects and can cause hallucinations or impact breathing and the heart.

The Associated Press