A staff member for the Sapporo Regional Taxation Bureau was dismissed after he was accused of working with an accomplice in the sale and cultivation of marijuana, reports Kyodo News (Aug. 1).

Since last winter, Keisuke Endo, 45, and Shotaro Osaki, 22, are believed to have accumulated about 10 million yen in sales.

On March 10, the suspects allegedly worked together to send 30 grams of marijuana by mail to the girlfriend of a man in Asahikawa City.

Both suspects admit to the allegations, police said.

Endo, who lives in Toyohira Ward, Sapporo City, was a member of the bureau until last month. Last month, police received a tip about a “staff member cultivating marijuana.”

Investigators later found about 1,000 marijuana plants in pots, special cultivation equipment and manure in two locations connected to Endo in Sapporo.

The bureau then dismissed Endo from his post.

“For a civil servant, this is a regrettable act that undermines public confidence in the bureau,” a representative of the bureau was quoted in offering an apology. “In understanding the seriousness of the matter, we will strive to do better [in the future].”