TOKYO: A drunken night out led to a Japanese finance ministry official losing documents containing personal information about nearly 200 people suspected of illegal drug dealings, local media reported.
The official with the ministry’s customs and tariff bureau guzzled nine glasses of beer on a five-hour bender last week before realising the bag was gone, public broadcaster NHK said yesterday.
In the missing bag were documents with details of 187 individuals, including names and addresses of suspected drug smugglers as well as recipients of cannabis seeds.
The official reportedly started drinking with customs staff in Yokohama, near Tokyo, at around 6pm on Thursday.
The incident “significantly undermined public trust in us, and we’re deeply sorry”, the ministry told local media, adding the official in question will be severely punished.
The finance ministry could not be reached by AFP today, which is a public holiday in Japan.