A 61-year-old man from Teddington has been indicted for attempting to smuggle approximately 30 kilograms of methamphetamine from the United States into Narita International Airport.

The value of the contraband is nearly 2 billion yen, making it the most in the history of the airport reports Kyodo News.

On 6 October, British national Stewart Cooper is alleged to have attempted to smuggle approximately 30 kilograms of kakuseizai (methamphetamine) in suitcases carried on a flight from San Francisco that landed at Narita International Airport.

On Monday 10 November), the District Public Prosecutors Office indicted Stewart Cooper for allegedly violating the Stimulants Control Act and other charges.

According to Japan Customs, Cooper denies the charges. "I was approached at a bar. I didn't think there was methamphetamine in the luggage," he said.

According to the Narita Branch of the Tokyo Customs and other sources, the drugs have a street value of 1.7 billion yen, making it the largest amount of methamphetamine ever seized from a single traveller at the airport.

According to customs officials, this is the sixth case this year alone of someone slipping around 30 kilograms of stimulants into suitcases carried on flights, with other cases having been found at Haneda and Fukuoka airports.

An official expressed concern, saying: "All of the drugs are being brought in from the United States. This bold method, where no attempt is made to conceal [the crime], is becoming the norm."

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A Foreign Office spokesperson told Nub News: "We are supporting a British man who is detained in Japan and are in contact with the local authorities."