US media reported on June 26 that the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, which was previously based in Japan, had become a hub for illegal drug activity, resulting in disciplinary action against 58 sailors, six of whom were referred to court-martial.
According to the Stars and Stripes, citing court documents and U.S. Navy officials, a sailor assigned to the Reagan—then homeported in Yokosuka, Japan—fell to his death in an onshore barracks in March 2023. An autopsy later found traces of hallucinogenic drugs in his system. Investigators from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) reviewed the sailor's mobile phone, uncovered new leads, and launched a broader inquiry that ultimately exposed a drug distribution network among the crew.
The report said investigators "discovered and dismantled a network that possessed, used, and distributed narcotics." One sailor received hallucinogenic drugs through U.S. Postal Service mail on seven separate occasions between February 2022 and May 2023, with shipments ranging from 350 to 1,000 tablets each time. He also distributed the drugs among other crew members aboard the Reagan.
That sailor and five others were court-martialed and received penalties including imprisonment, while another 52 sailors faced non-judicial disciplinary measures for drug use, the report added.
The USS Ronald Reagan concluded its nearly 10-year forward deployment in Yokosuka in the spring of 2024 and has since returned to the United States.
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