Tokyo Police Arrest Suspected Robbery Planner in “Tokuryu” Group

Tokyo, July 3 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo police have arrested a 26-year-old man believed to have played the role of robbery planner in a “tokuryu” loosely organized anonymous criminal group, it was learned Friday. Hayato Ishikura is suspected of conspiring with other members to break into a house in the city of Tachikawa, Tokyo, between around 9:10 p.m. to 9:20 p.m. on Dec. 4 last year, and steal some 9.3 million yen in cash and items, including a bag and a wallet, valued at around 5 million yen in total. After the robbery, Ishikura received a bag and about 4 million yen in cash as his share of the proceeds at an expressway rest stop, according to investigative sources. Part of the reward may have been passed on to another person. According to the sources, Ishikura met Makoto Senoo, 39, who has been indicted, through social media and shared information around November last year. Ishikura told Senoo that he mainly targeted safes and gold bars and that successfully completing a robbery would lead to larger projects. Senoo said that he conducted robberies or thefts once or twice a week and that he could deploy two teams. The MPD has so far arrested eight people in connection with the case and believes that more people were involved. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]