From the Radio Free Michigan archives ftp://141.209.3.26/pub/patriot If you have any other files you'd like to contribute, e-mail them to bj496@Cleveland.Freenet.Edu. ------------------------------------------------ The following story was published late last year. Japanese officials believe the flow has increased since then, because an average gun is now selling for about $600. Japanese may not like Detroit wheels or California rice, but one American import has found a niche among a choosy -- and criminal -- minority. Whether they're Colt, Ruger or Smith & Wesson, pistols smuggled in from the United States are No. 1 among "yakuza" organized crime groups in this land where civilian handgun possession is illegal. A simple profit motive can drive the smugglers. A Smith & Wesson ..38-caliber revolver bought for $275 in the United States can be sold on the Japanese black market for $4,800, U.S. Customs investigators say. Last year, Japanese police seized 469 firearms that were brought in from the United States. "It's impossible to stop the flow as long as the guns are easily available in other countries," said Shigeru Kubota of the National Police Agency's firearms control office. Yakuza gunrunners concoct elaborate schemes to mine the rich vein of firepower available in America. In 1991, two smugglers from Osaka flew to Chicago and recruited a local man to accompany them to a gun shop, where he signed for the purchase of 212 handguns. Avoiding airport metal detectors, the Japanese then took a train to Los Angeles to ship the guns by sea to Japan, hidden among blue jeans. Federal agents spotted the big purchase in the dealer's paperwork and broke up the scheme. In other recent cases: A yakuza member traveled monthly to Oklahoma and hired locals to buy guns; a Japanese arriving in Tokyo from Los Angeles was stopped with 28 handguns in his luggage; a retired Japanese airline pilot was arrested as an alleged yakuza gunrunner. ------------------------------------------------ (This file was found elsewhere on the Internet and uploaded to the Radio Free Michigan archives by the archive maintainer. All files are ZIP archives for fast download. E-mail bj496@Cleveland.Freenet.Edu)