Iranian held after entry without biometric identification

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KOBE, Feb. 17 Kyodo -
An Iranian man has been charged with illegal stay after skipping the biometric
identification process and entering Japan as a special exception under the
immigration law, investigative sources said Wednesday.
The man, identified as 31-year-old Hossein Torabi who claimed to be in the
trade business, has also been served a fresh arrest warrant for possessing two
tablets of the synthetic narcotic drug MDMA, the sources said.
The local police in Hyogo Prefecture now suspect that he is a drug dealer who
scammed the immigration system to keep authorities from taking his photo and
fingerprints, capitalizing on the law that exempts certain foreign nationals,
including key overseas figures, from biometrics upon entry.
Torabi entered Japan on May 27 last year at Kansai International Airport near
Osaka, using that exemption to attend a seminar in Tokyo co-hosted by Japanese
and Iranian industry groups. But he went missing after the seminar.
In December, police arrested another Iranian man for allegedly violating
Japan's immigration law and raided an Osaka apartment over the case in January.
Torabi was found at the apartment and was apprehended for his alleged illegal
stay that his indictment says exceeded his 15-day permit.
He was found with the drugs at the apartment.
==Kyodo
2010-02-17 23:34:28