The Justice Department announced Thursday that it had detained the boss of a Japanese crime syndicate known as the Yakuza and three Thai individuals for narcotics trafficking and attempting to buy US-made weaponry for "unstable nations."

On April 4 and 5, Yakuza chief Takeshi Ebisawa and his Thai national affiliates, Sompak Rukrasaranee, Somphob Singhasiri, and Suksan Jullanan, were detained in Manhattan.

"We allege that Mr. Ebisawa and his co-conspirators arranged for the purchase of heavy-duty weaponry and the sale of large quantities of illegal drugs through an undercover DEA [Drug Enforcement Administration] agent," US Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.

"The drugs were bound for the streets of New York, while the weaponry were earmarked for factions in unstable nations. Members of this multinational criminal organization can no longer endanger lives and will face prosecution for their illegal activities," he stressed.

Since at least 2019, the DEA has been investigating the transnational crime syndicate connected with extensive narcotics and weapons trafficking across Japan, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, and the United States.

The men allegedly plotted to broker the purchase of US-made surface-to-air missiles and other heavy-duty weaponry for several ethnic armed factions in Burma, also known as Myanmar, in exchange for heroin and methamphetamine distribution.

Ebisawa allegedly intended to purchase rockets, machine guns, and automatic weaponry for Burmese rebel organizations like the United WA State Army (UWSA), the Shan State Army, and the Karen National Union (KNU).

According to the indictment, Ebisawa informed the undercover DEA agent that "the political situation in Myanmar was deteriorating" and that the UWSA was "interested in procuring large quantities of weapons."

On Feb. 1, 2021, the military-led by Min Aung Hlaing deposed an elected civilian administration led by Aung San Suu Kyi and seized control in Burma, igniting protests and confrontations between the military and ethnic minority militants.

Additionally, the indictment said that Ebisawa attempted to purchase weapons for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, commonly referred to as the Tamil Tigers, a Sri Lankan armed separatist group.

Additionally, it claimed that Ebisawa and Singhasiri plotted to sell the undercover DEA agent 500 kilograms of methamphetamine and 500 kilograms of heroin for distribution in New York.

According to the report, the Yakuza commander attempted to launder $100,000 in alleged drugs revenues from the United States to Japan.

"Ebisawa and his associates intended to distribute hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamine and heroin into the United States, utilizing lethal weapons to facilitate their criminal activities at a time when nearly 300 Americans die each day from drug overdose," DEA Administrator Anne Milgram stated.

They face up to life in jail on drug trafficking and weapons charges.