2 women arrested for smuggling drugs to Japan

Two women accused of trafficking drugs between China and Japan have been arrested, according to prosecutors in Minhang District.

Tang Cui, 60, is alleged to have been recruiting Chinese women like her, who had married and moved to Japan, to smuggle drugs between the two countries since 2016.

The business came to light last August when Minhang police discovered Tang was buying large amounts of drugs in Shanghai, repackaging them in smaller bags and then hiring women around her age to take them to Japan.

Prosecutors said one of Tang’s friends, Zhou Ping, agreed to hide drugs in her luggage during her flight back to Japan last September. After she was caught, Tang was apprehended at her Shanghai residence.

Prosecutors said an investigation was still under way.