• Burmese
Saturday, May 24, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
26 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

US Man Charged in Cannabis Case Fled Myanmar for US on New Passport

Zarni Mann by Zarni Mann
March 5, 2020
in Burma
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
John Fredric Todoroki (center) arrives for a court hearing in May 2019. / Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy

John Fredric Todoroki (center) arrives for a court hearing in May 2019. / Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy

12.1k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

MANDALAY—A missing US citizen who was charged by a court in Myanmar with growing cannabis fled the country on a new passport and is now back in the United States, a source who personally knows him has confirmed to The Irrawaddy.

John Fredric Todoroki, 63, was arrested by Mandalay police in April 2019 along with two locals for operating an alleged marijuana plantation in the Myotha Industrial Park in Mandalay Region.

Todoroki claimed he was raising a cannabis crop consisting of hemp plants—not marijuana—and had been given permission to do so by regional authorities. Hemp and marijuana are two different species of cannabis.

RelatedPosts

Thai Court Issues Warrants Over Deadly Tower Collapse During Quake

Thai Court Issues Warrants Over Deadly Tower Collapse During Quake

May 16, 2025
402
Remembering Myanmar Political Prisoners Killed at Quake-Devastated Obo Prison

Remembering Myanmar Political Prisoners Killed at Quake-Devastated Obo Prison

May 9, 2025
563
Lawlessness Stalks Northern Shan Capital After Myanmar Junta’s Return

Lawlessness Stalks Northern Shan Capital After Myanmar Junta’s Return

April 30, 2025
1.4k

Todoroki spent nearly four months in detention at Myingyan Prison until the court granted him medical bail, set at 325 million kyats (about US$232,380), in July, as he had developed respiratory problems in prison. He was released after a bail bondsman signed a guarantee covering the amount.

His lawyers submitted an appeal to the regional court asking it to scrap the case, saying their client had official permission to operate a hemp plantation. But the court rejected the appeal in November.

After being released on bail, Todoroki failed to appear in court. He has been absent from the last few months of his trial, which is ongoing. If convicted he could be sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment.

In February, the court issued an arrest warrant and ordered the bondsman, Dr. Khin Maung Win, to pay the full amount of the bail by March 3.

In fact, the US citizen had already fled the country by the time his appeal to have the case dropped was denied.

“He went to Bangkok through the Thai border in October, and he is now at his home in the United States, receiving medical care for his lung problems,” said the source, referring to the disease Todoroki contracted at Myingyan Prison. The source requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case.

The source’s comments confirm an account inan article published by Gen, an online publication. According to Gen, Todoroki fled the country in a pickup truck via a Thai border town in October last year. In the article, the author, who met Todoroki in Colorado in December, writes, “The US Embassy had issued John a new passport (in his own name),” and his fixer paid a Myanmar immigration officer US$300 for a stamp.

When asked for comment, the US Embassy in Yangon told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday: “Due to privacy considerations, we are unable to divulge personal information.”

In the Gen article, Todoroki recalls that after being released on bail he held a meeting with Mandalay Region Chief Minister U Zaw Myint Maung in which he unsuccessfully sought the minister’s intervention in his case. It was U Zaw Myint Maung who had issued a permit to the company in which the US citizen was involved giving it the right to grow cannabis in order to produce CBD, a natural compound found in cannabis plants that is used for medicinal purposes. Todoroki’s company claimed to be producing CBD from hemp, which, unlike marijuana, does not contain sufficient quantities of another compound, THC, to be used as a recreational drug.

According to the Gen article, “[Myanmar’s] 1993 narcotics law that John [Todoroki] had allegedly violated made no distinction between marijuana and hemp, THC and CBD, and so, the minister told him, he would be going back to Myingyan. ‘You’ll be fine in prison, the minister told him.’”

U Thein Than Oo, one of Todoroki’s lawyers, told The Irrawaddy that he lost contact with his client in October last year.

He said that after being bailed out, his client was depressed and showed dissatisfaction with the lawsuit and even said that he could die in prison, if found guilty.

“He said he didn’t understand why things had turned upside down, as the company he works for is legally registered in Myanmar and has official permission to grow hemp,” the lawyer said.

“John told me that he is done with this country and if the court found him guilty, he could die in prison. He was traumatized by the poor hygiene and situation in the prison. I think that’s why he managed an escape plan,” U Thein Than Oo said.

You may also like these stories:

Myanmar Military Seizes US$64M of Drugs in Shan State

Global Supplier India Curbs Drug Exports as Coronavirus Fears Grow

Your Thoughts …
Tags: CrimeDrugsJustice
Zarni Mann

Zarni Mann

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Myanmar’s BGF: A Family-Run Criminal Enterprise With Friends Across Asia
Burma

Myanmar’s BGF: A Family-Run Criminal Enterprise With Friends Across Asia

by The Irrawaddy
May 22, 2024
36.9k

A new report by JFM spotlights the organized crime empire of junta-allied Karen warlord Saw Chit Thu and his family,...

Read moreDetails
Notorious Myanmar Arms Broker Convicted of Cash Smuggling in Singapore 
Burma

Notorious Myanmar Arms Broker Convicted of Cash Smuggling in Singapore 

by The Irrawaddy
January 8, 2024
28.7k

US-sanctioned Kyaw Min Oo and two accomplices were caught at Changi airport with over half a million dollars.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Detains Generals Who Surrendered to Resistance in Laukkai
Burma

Myanmar Junta Detains Generals Who Surrendered to Resistance in Laukkai

by The Irrawaddy
January 8, 2024
23.9k

The detention of the six brigadier generals is required under the military’s rules following last week’s surrender to the MNDAA,...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Reportedly Set to Prosecute High-Profile Businessmen for Corruption
Junta Cronies

Myanmar Junta Reportedly Set to Prosecute High-Profile Businessmen for Corruption

by The Irrawaddy
October 18, 2023
15.9k

Regime cronies Thein Win Zaw and Mu Mu Shein are set to follow former lieutenant general Moe Myint Tun as...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar’s Karen BGF Launches ‘Scam Crackdown’ After Chinese Celebs Abducted
Burma

Myanmar’s Karen BGF Launches ‘Scam Crackdown’ After Chinese Celebs Abducted

by Maung Kavi
January 16, 2025
14.9k

Junta-affiliated militia overseeing notorious transnational crime hub issues ‘clean-up’ message to Chinese tycoons in Myawaddy.  

Read moreDetails
By Almost Every Measure, Myanmar Junta Ranks Among World’s Worst Regimes
Analysis

By Almost Every Measure, Myanmar Junta Ranks Among World’s Worst Regimes

by Khin Nadi
February 2, 2024
10.7k

The Irrawaddy unpacks the regime’s three-year track record of violence and rights abuses, as assessed by leading global organizations and...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Frontier Myanmar reporter Naw Betty Han. / Kyaw Kyaw Han / Facebook

Myanmar Journalists Detained by Karen Border Guard to Be Released

N: Military lawmakers at the Union Parliament on March 4. / Thiha Lwin / The Irrawaddy

NLD Constitutional Amendments Would Disrupt Democratic Transition: Military MPs

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

‘Indian Troops Killed Myanmar Resistance Fighters to Send a Message’

‘Indian Troops Killed Myanmar Resistance Fighters to Send a Message’

1 day ago
1.8k
Kokang’s New Power Play: Economic Integration With China

Kokang’s New Power Play: Economic Integration With China

3 days ago
1.3k

Most Read

  • Adidas Shoe Factory Agrees to Striking Workers’ Demands

    Adidas Shoe Factory Agrees to Striking Workers’ Demands

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ‘Indian Troops Killed Myanmar Resistance Fighters to Send a Message’

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • What Are the Possible Scenarios for the Junta’s Election Plan?

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Drone Strike Destroys Myanmar Junta’s Crash-Landed Aircraft

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • As Grid Fails, Myanmar Junta Eyes Shelved China-Backed Myitsone Dam

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.