Tokyo Police Suspect Kanto Robbers also Committed Similar Crimes in Hiroshima, Yamaguchi Prefectures

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:25 JST, January 23, 2023

Members of a group involved in a series of robberies in the Kanto region are suspected of also committing similar crimes in the prefectures of Hiroshima and Yamaguchi, police sources have told The Yomiuri Shimbun.

According to the sources, when the Metropolitan Police Department examined security cameras in the area where a robbery occurred in Kamitakada, Nakano Ward, on Dec. 5, they found some of the perpetrators closely resembled suspects in incidents that took place in Nishi Ward, Hiroshima, and in Yamaguchi Prefecture.

The methods used to break in were also similar.

In the Nakano case, a private house was broken into and about ¥30 million in cash was taken. The MPD has arrested two men, including 21-year-old Rikuto Nagata, on suspicion of robbery resulting in bodily injury.

The incident in Hiroshima took place on Dec. 21. Several men broke into a store building that also served as a residence and assaulted a resident in his 40s, seriously injuring the man and taking cash and other items before fleeing the scene.

Police authorities are investigating, believing the same group has committed robberies in various locations.