The Naha District Court in Naha City, Okinawa is pictured on October 25, 2024. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A Japanese court has handed down a suspended sentence to a U.S. Marine convicted of bringing a synthetic drug through the mail to Okinawa.

Lance Cpl. Gianmarco Benitez Perez, 22, of Camp Hansen, was sentenced Friday to two years and six months in prison by a three-judge panel, a spokesman for the Naha District Court said by telephone Monday.

The sentence will be suspended for four years, she said. Benitez Perez will not serve time in a Japanese prison on the condition that he does not commit any more crimes.

A spokesman for the 3rd Marine Logistics Group declined to identify Benitez Perez’s unit or whether he will face further disciplinary action from the military.

“The Marine Corps has a strict zero-tolerance policy when it comes to illegal or illicit drugs and takes these allegations seriously,” Capt. Brett Vannier said by email Monday. “We will continue to abide by (the status of forces agreement) and work with our Japanese partners to address this incident and any future incident covered by the SOFA.”

The US-Japan Status of Forces Agreement sets out the legal consequences for the US military population, along with their rights and responsibilities.

Details of the case have not been released ahead of the trial and sentencing, a spokesman for the Okinawa Prefectural Police said by phone Monday. A spokesman for the Naha District Prosecutor’s Office, reached by phone Monday, referred questions to the court.

Some Japanese government officials can only speak to the media on condition of anonymity.

Benitez Perez ordered 1.2 ounces of the drug, known as MDMB, over the Internet, according to a Saturday report by the Okinawa Times. The package containing the drugs was intercepted by Okinawa Regional Customs in April, the report said.

Prosecutors asked for a sentence of two years and six months, the report said.

MDMB is a synthetic cannabinoid, a substance produced in a laboratory that mimics the active ingredient in marijuana, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.

MDMB and other designer drugs were introduced in Europe before appearing in the United States in 2008, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The DEA moved in 2023 to classify MDMB and five other similar substances as Schedule 1 drugs under the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule 1 drugs, such as LSD, heroin, and marijuana, are considered by the federal government to have no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.

Suspended sentences for members of the U.S. military and civilian employees of the Department of Defense for importing drugs into Okinawa through the mail are not uncommon.

A sailor convicted in December of importing LSD received an 18-month suspended sentence; an airman, his wife and mother received suspended sentences of 1.5 to two years in January for shipping cannabis-infused vape pens into the country.