Due to the fact that the defendant disagrees with the court's decision and intends to file an appeal, his name has not yet been revealed.
The defendant and three other Russians were detained in Japan on September 16, 2004, having smuggled 4,997 "ecstasy" pills into the country from Vladivostok on board the Academician Vinogradov cruise ship, Far Eastern Customs spokesperson Natalia Malakhova said.
"Due to lack of evidence, one of the detainees was released and sent back to Russia," Malakhova said. "Japanese authorities filed criminal cases against the drug courier and two other Russian citizens and started an investigation."
One of the detainees was sentenced in spring 2005 to five years in prison and fined 1 million yen. He is currently serving his sentence in a Japanese prison. Another detainee is still under investigation.
The interception of the large "ecstasy" shipment was the result of joint efforts by Russia's Far Eastern Customs Office and the Organized Crime Squad at the Japanese Maritime Safety Agency (JMSA), the Russian official said.
