Prosecutors, not police, decide formal charges under Japan’s criminal justice system. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Japanese police arrested a U.S. Navy civilian this week on suspicion of attempting to smuggle psychedelic drugs via mail, a police spokesman said Thursday.
David Adam Todd, 44, a ship repairman, is suspected of violating Japan’s Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Act by importing 279 grams, or about 10 ounces, of items containing psilocybin and psilocin, a Kanagawa Prefectural Police spokesman told Stars and Stripes by phone.
The narcotics were mailed through “unofficial military mail,” the spokesman said. It was not immediately clear if that referred to the Military Postal Service Agency.
The two chemicals are naturally occurring psychoactive compounds found in psychedelic mushrooms, also known as “magic mushrooms,” and classified as narcotics under Japanese law.
A person found guilty of importing narcotics is subject to between one and 10 years in prison, according to the Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Act.
Todd was arrested Wednesday morning at his home in Hayama, about 5 miles west of Yokosuka Naval Base, the police said.
Yokohama customs officials discovered the substances in a suspicious package mailed to Todd’s work address, public broadcaster NHK reported Thursday.
The package contained items including pills and gummies, NHK reported.
Some Japanese government officials may speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.
Naval Forces Japan referred all questions to the U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility and Japan Regional Maintenance Center at Yokosuka. A civilian employee there is under investigation for the importation of narcotics, spokesman Randall Baucom confirmed in an email Thursday.
Baucom did not identify the civilian or his command.
“The Navy takes all incidents and allegations involving the misconduct of its personnel seriously,” he wrote. “We are unable to comment further at this time due to the ongoing investigation.”
