Society

North Korea fingered in Lexus smuggling racket

TOKYO, Dec 09 (News On Japan) - As the spotlight intensifies on the illegal export of Lexus luxury cars, believed to be intended for use in North Korea, experts are pointing to the possibility of involvement by North Korean embassies overseas.

On Thursday (Dec 7), Kanagawa Prefectural Police searched a used car dealership in Chiba Prefecture on suspicion of illegally exporting Lexus SUVs.

According to investigators, in July, a ship carrying the cars set sail for Bangladesh, but it was discovered en route that the destination had been changed to the local North Korean embassy there, and the shipment was temporarily detained.

The following month, the cars were re-exported under the guise of being sent to Singapore, but they were actually transported to Bangladesh and then believed to have been brought into North Korea.

Former member of the UN Panel of Experts on North Korea Sanctions, Katsuhisa Furukawa, said "Overseas (North Korean) embassies have played an important role in arranging the transportation of goods for these illegal exports. Lower-ranking diplomats are often the ones managing these transactions."

In an interview with ANN, a male business owner said, "I heard that dealing with the embassy could reduce taxes."

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