7 Arrested over 423-M.-Yen Robbery in Tokyo

Tokyo, March 14 (Jiji Press)–Japanese police arrested on Saturday seven individuals, including senior members of groups linked to the Yamaguchi-gumi and Sumiyoshi-kai crime syndicates, on suspicion of robbing a group of people of three suitcases containing a total of 423 million yen in cash in Tokyo in January. About three hours after the incident, a group carrying cash worth about 190 million yen was attacked at a parking lot at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department’s organized crime control division is investigating the possible connection between the two cases. The seven arrested individuals allegedly conspired to steal the suitcases on a street in the Japanese capital’s Taito Ward around 9:30 p.m. Jan. 29. A 43-year-old man was assaulted when the suspects fled the scene. According to sources including the MPD division, two of the seven suspects, who drove the getaway vehicle and the vehicle they switched to, are believed to be the masterminds, while three of the remaining five committed the robbery. The other two are suspected to have procured the vehicles. The Haneda incident occurred around 12:10 a.m. Jan. 30. A group of four in a car approached a man and three others carrying cash, and struck the window of the man’s vehicle with a hammer. The group fled without stealing anything. Two of the four victims were later robbed of about 51 million yen in Hong Kong. One of them was arrested by Hong Kong police along with other individuals and later indicted. The victims of the Taito Ward and Haneda cases told police that they were transporting cash obtained partly through gold trade to Hong Kong to exchange the money, according to investigative sources. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]