4 Arrested over Attempted Theft before Haneda Cash Ambush

Tokyo, July 2 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo police have arrested four people over an attempted theft at a multistory parking lot at Haneda Airport in the Japanese capital’s Ota Ward in January. The Metropolitan Police Department suspects that the four mistook the victim, a man in his 20s, for their intended target of a failed robbery involving about 190 million yen in cash that took place at the same airport parking lot soon afterward. Those arrested include Yoshito Koyama, 20, whose address and occupation are unknown and whom investigators believe was the group’s leader. The other suspects are Hizuki Sugamori, 22, from Machida, Tokyo, Taiga Kurihara, 20, also from Machida, and a 16-year-old boy. The occupations of Sugamori and Kurihara have not been identified. The four are suspected of attempting to steal two travel bags containing a computer and other items from the man in his 20s on the third floor of the parking lot in the small hours of Jan. 30. The police have not disclosed whether any of the suspects has admitted to the allegations. About two minutes after the incident, a group of four people transporting about 190 million yen in cash was assaulted on the same floor of the parking lot although nothing was stolen. As the man in his 20s had nothing to do with the group carrying the cash, the investigators believe that the suspects mistook him for their intended target. Two of the four cash-carrying people later flew to Hong Kong, where they were robbed of about 51 million yen in cash. One of the two was arrested with others by local authorities and was later indicted. About two and a half hours before the Haneda incidents, suitcases containing about 420 million yen in cash were stolen on a street in the Higashiueno district in Tokyo’s Taito Ward. Over the case, Jinryu Kano, 21, whom investigators believe directed the operation, and others have been arrested and indicted. Kano is a senior member of a group affiliated with major organized crime syndicate Yamaguchi-gumi. The victims in both the attempted robbery and robbery cases at Haneda and Higashiueno were transporting cash from gold transactions and other business dealings to Hong Kong. Police are investigating possible connections between the two cases. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]