A leader of Japan's Yakuza crime syndicate who tried to sell Iran weapons-grade plutonium has pleaded guilty to charges of trafficking narcotics, weapons and nuclear material.

The leader of a Japanese crime syndicate who was charged by U.S. authorities with trafficking nuclear materials from Myanmar pleaded guilty on Wednesday, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement.

A Japanese Yakuza leader has pleaded guilty to attempting to traffic weapons-grade plutonium for Iran’s nuclear weapons programme.

A member of the Japanese yakuza criminal underworld pleaded guilty to handling nuclear material sourced from Myanmar and seeking to sell it to fund an illicit arms deal, US authorities

A leader of yakuza, a Japanese organized crime syndicate, pleaded guilty in New York to charges of trafficking nuclear materials, prosecutors said.

Takeshi Ebisawa, the alleged leader of the Japanese Yakuza, admitted in a New York court to trafficking nuclear materials and drugs. The uranium and plutonium originated from Myanmar (formerly Burma).