Peter McGough broke news on FlexOnline.com that IFBB Pro bodybuilder Hidetada Yamagishi was arrested for possession of a controlled substance. Hide arrived in Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on December 8, 2007 after spending the previous 5 weeks in Japan. He was taken into custody at the airport by the El Segundo Police Department and held on $180,000 bond.

There are no indications that he will make bail. He remains incarcerated and has recently been moved to longer-term housing at the North County Correctional Facility in Saugus, California. Since U.S. authorities have placed an immigration hold on him (Hide is a Japanese National), he would immediately be taken into federal custody until his legal case is resolved.

Hide's initial court date is scheduled for January 8, 2008. At the conclusion of his legal case, he will be transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and placed in deportation proceedings.

Hidetada Yamagishi was the first Japanese bodybuilder to qualify and compete in the Mr. Olympia contest; as such he was extremely popular in his home country of Japan. Not only do recent events make his participation in the 2008 Iron Man Pro and 2008 Arnold Classic contests unlikely, they place his career as a professional bodybuilder in jeopardy if he is deported.

This is also bad news for the IFBB, IFBB Japan, and especially Hide Yamagishi's sponsor, RKS Planning (a division of Rokkuku Construction Company in Japan) who has invested significant funds in promoting Hide domestically and internationally. They accompanied him to the 2007 Mr. Olympia weekend distributing free merchandise to promote Hide; the company produced a couple of commercials featuring Hide which can be seen here and here. Furthermore, they are sponsoring the 2008 IFBB Japan Pro in Tokyo in October of 2008; recent events suggest that this may be cancelled depending on the outcome of the Hidetada Yamagishi case.