Crime & Courts

Iranian National Detained at Japan’s Kansai Airport over 2001 Van Robbery; Guard Sustained Injuries after Being Shot, ¥100 million Taken

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
The Metropolitan Police Department

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:48 JST, July 8, 2024

An Iranian man was arrested Sunday over an armed robbery in Tokyo in 2001 during which ¥100 million was taken from a van, after his arrival in Japan with a counterfeit passport Saturday, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

The 51-year-old man was detained at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture on Saturday.

Police had placed the man on an international wanted list via the International Criminal Police Organization.

According to the police, the man allegedly conspired with his associates to rob a van on Oct 3, 2001, that was being loaded with cash on a street near what was then JA Tokyo’s Musashi Hanakoganei branch in Tokyo’s Kodaira. A male security guard sustained a serious injury after being shot in the thigh and a bag containing ¥100 million in cash and checks was taken.

The police arrested three other Iranian nationals in January 2002.