Alleged Robbery Boss Deported from Philippines, Arrested
17:33 JST, February 9, 2023
Two men, including Yuki Watanabe, suspected to have been involved in a string of robberies across Japan, were deported to Japan from an immigration facility in the Philippines and arrested en route by the Metropolitan Police Department on Thursday.
The MPD will investigate the connection between the men, as well as the two other men arrested this week, and the alias “Luffy,” under which one or multiple individuals directed the perpetrators of the robberies.
Watanabe, 38, and Tomonobu Kojima, 45, who had both been detained at the Bicutan detention center in a Manila suburb, boarded a passenger plane at an airport near Manila in the early hours of Thursday morning, accompanied by MPD investigators who had been dispatched to the country. Watanabe and Kojima were officially arrested aboard the deportation flight on suspicion of theft related to a fraud case before arriving around 4:45 a.m. at Haneda Airport.
Appearing in front of the press at an airport gate after landing, the two suspects walked with their heads bowed, making no particular show of emotion. From the airport, they were transferred to a police station in Tokyo.
The MPD arrested Kiyoto Imamura and Toshiya Fujita, both 38, over the same fraud case on Tuesday, following their deportation from the Philippines. The police believe that the four were leaders of a fraud group that scammed victims across Japan out of some ¥6 billion between 2018 and 2020, and are working to clarify how the crimes were conducted.
The fraud was perpetrated by criminals pretending to be police officers and other officials who mainly called elderly people and told them that their bank account had been compromised. The criminals urged the victims to put their cash cards in envelopes so that they could be swapped out with fake ones. Within the group running the scam, Watanabe was called the “Boss,” police said.
"Society" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Japan Court OKs Sex Change without Surgery
-
3 Climbers Die On Mt. Fuji Within 2 Days Of Opening; Japan Police, Guides Urge Climbers To Prepare Well, Make Wise Decisions
-
New Mt. Fuji Rules Reduce ‘Bullet Climbers’ by 90%; Access to Japan’s Iconic Peak Limited from Yamanashi Pref. Side
-
Sex Crime Perpetrators Linked to U.S. Military in 166 Cases in Japan over 35 years; Local, Prefectural Governments Often Not Aware of Crimes
-
Tokaido Shinkansen Trains Suspended Between Hamamatsu and Nagoya Due to Accident; Resuming Services Expected Noon at Earliest
JN ACCESS RANKING
- Aviation Fuel Shortage Causes Problems at Regional Airports; Growing Demand, Lack of Workers to Transport
- Prices of over 10,000 Food and Beverage Items to Rise This Year; Figure is down from over 30,000 Last Year
- Sony Group to End Production of Blu-ray Discs; Market Has Shrunk Due To Growth Of Hard Disk Drives, Streaming
- Japan Ministry Concerned Over Same-Sex Couple Receiving City-Issued Resident Certificates Referring to ‘Common-Law Husband’
- Japan Court OKs Sex Change without Surgery