British employee of Merrill Lynch Japan among 10 busted over cocaine use at nightclubs

Tuesday 20th May, 05:03 PM JST

TOKYO —

Police on Tuesday arrested four foreigners, including a British employee of Merrill Lynch Japan, and six Japanese for possession and use of illegal drugs at two nightclubs in Roppongi on May 11.

According to police, the 10 suspects were picked up after raids on the clubs DownTown and Odeon, around 8:30 a.m. on May 11 after they received a tip that illegal drugs were being traded in the clubs. Police found the 10 suspects in possession of cocaine and cannabis. Police say those clubs are known for illegal drug dealing on the Internet.

Police said the British suspect denies the allegations. He was quoted as saying, “I don’t use drugs. Somebody put it in my pocket. I have no idea how it got there.” Other suspects told police they bought the drugs from an “African guy” at various bars, but police have not found him.

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Latest 15 of 78 Total Comments Show All

ManofJustice at 05:36 PM JST - 21st May

Don't know what your mumbling about "rjdsr"... without foreign firms helping the economy, Japan would be in worst condition than it already is. They obviously shouldn't be dealing drugs and will be paying their dues on the crime, but shouldn't have any reflection on foreign firms as it is an individual problem, not the firms problem. Does your company give you a spanking when you do something wrong?
Stallion at 12:11 AM JST - 22nd May

he's 29 years old and a British national..has been with Merrill for 5 years. I know the guy personally, he's actually a decent bloke
usaexpat at 12:21 AM JST - 22nd May

and at the end of it all just a stupid decision. Should have waited to do the blow until you were back home where it would be a slap on the wrist. As if cocaine is some sort of moral corruptive to Japanese society (as RJDsr said I hope jokingly) A whole lot of free coke might actually raise the birth rate here, what do say boys?
Nessie at 12:32 AM JST - 22nd May

USA, it's more corrupting than a lot of other illegal substances I can think of.
Soochi at 12:42 AM JST - 22nd May

I'd fire him purely on the basis that he must be God-awful at his job if this sorry tale is anything to go by.

Apparently the very same venue had been raided by the rozzers beck in Feb in a drugs bust and remains a notorious drug-den.
Hughgarse at 11:26 AM JST - 22nd May

he's 29 years old and a British national..has been with Merrill for 5 years. I know the guy personally, he's actually a decent bloke

Stallion.

Yeah, he is. Has been a mate of mine for about 6 years.
ambrosia at 01:45 PM JST - 22nd May

rjdsjr: No, not wrong. This is Japan. You are a guest. Breaking the laws is disrespectful to Japan. Don't like how it is in Japan? We have plenty of airports with flights you can take home.

Thank you for reminding us of where we are. Very kind of you. By the way, isn't it disrespectful to break the law no matter where you are or where you're from? When Japanese break the law in Japan do you consider it disrespectful? Is it disrespectful when Brits break the law in Britain?
Sarge at 04:11 PM JST - 22nd May

Stallion, I doubt this bloke appreciates you giving detailed information about him on this site.
ALHQQ at 05:50 PM JST - 22nd May

Wonder why they chose to focus on the British guy and not the other 9 (6 Japanese and 3 other "foreigners")?
MichaelJP at 08:34 PM JST - 26th May

Traders and cocaine... in Roppongi... I am shocked!! I'd love to see some random blood testing on the trading floors of the major investment banks here in Tokyo. You can bet many traders would suddenly decide it was time to relocate.

BTW: The "someone put it in my pocket" excuse probably also wouldn't work to well when going through customs either.
KaptainKichigai at 10:38 PM JST - 26th May

Cut the guy a break. Coke is illegal everywhere. Of coure he should deny it. Never admit it. We should back the guy up. A little foreign support, sheesh, the man was out at the club with some friends and doing a little bolivian marching powder, big deal! A victimless crime! lets rally behind him. At the very least he is being sent home jobless. At the most, he will do awful time in jail here eating fish head soup and wasting away in solitary.
swibbs at 02:23 AM JST - 27th May

a close friend has just had the same thing happen to him and we have no way of finding out how he is. We have now idea what will happen and where. we have had no contact and he is not able to communicate with us either. our embassy has not yet been contacted by our friend so we dont even know where he is. The Japanese judicial system is so secretive that it makes it very difficult to asses the situation. If anyone has any ideas please help
swibbs at 04:47 AM JST - 27th May

actually lipscombe, he isn't a hardened user of coke, but moreover an alcohol imbiber, it seems that almost all Japanese men are great consumers of alcohol, which I might remind everyone, is also a drug, and a drug with very horrible consiquenses, more deaths, family violence, road related accidents etc, it is just a "legal" drug.Yes I find that being in possesion of illegal substances is punishable, my issue is that we cannot find out ANYTHING because the Japanese government doesn't allow any contact between someone being held, without being charged. they have up to 21 days to hold someone with out charge. In that time they may interrogate as much or as often as they want, 24 hrs a day if they decide. If indeed the outcome is deportation, then PLEASE put him on a plane back home, but if you are found with just a small "personal" amount then you weren't trafficing and the only one you are harming is yourself. lets face it, his job is gone, his family humiliated, his coworkers shocked and his life as he knew it is over. Why not just send him back on the next flight?
frontandcentre at 01:09 PM JST - 27th May

MichaelJP:

BTW: The "someone put it in my pocket" excuse probably also wouldn't work to well when going through customs either.

Err.....read today's headlines and it might.

I have no problem with the police addressing the drugs problem, I do wonder why the media focus on the nationality and job of someone caught doing something. What's the difference whether he worked for Merill's or an Eikawa? None as far as I can see. If it was a Japanese person, there wouldn't be the focus on their profession, I'm sure - unless they were famous. The whole thing would have been dealt with nice and quietly and without any embarassment to the company that they worked for - since unlike the recent insider trading scam at Nomura (how happy the company must have been to find out it was a Chinese employee who was responsible...) this alleged offence has absolutely nothing to do with the accused's job. But who cares when it's bad publicity for a nasty foreign investment bank, eh?

Ridiculous
frontandcentre at 01:13 PM JST - 27th May

swibbs:

lets face it, his job is gone, his family humiliated, his coworkers shocked and his life as he knew it is over.

Why should it be, if he's in fact innocent? Unless the cops can prove that he knew the drugs were in his pocket, or they find the person that sold them to him, or have clear evidence that he bought or used them, he might be fine if he sticks to his story.

I hate all this jumping to conclusions by people who don't know about the situation...