YouTube Audition Show Participant Arrested for Cocaine Possession

Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department has arrested a 27-year-old woman who performs under the name Rino Yamato and has appeared in a YouTube audition program, along with her boyfriend, on suspicion of cocaine possession, investigative sources said Wednesday.

The woman, whose real name is Rino Tazawa, is a cabaret club employee and company executive. She and her partner, company executive Kota Fukumoto, 28, were arrested Tuesday for allegedly possessing roughly 0.4 grams of cocaine in a bag at their condominium.

Tazawa has admitted the charges, saying the two used cocaine together. Meanwhile, Fukumoto has denied the charges, claiming the drugs did not belong to him.

According to investigative sources, police received a tip about Tazawa using cocaine this year. In addition to the approximately 0.4 grams of cocaine, police found 21 bags containing white powder and a straw believed to have been used for inhaling the drug. The MPD will investigate whether the two used cocaine.

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