4 Served Fresh Warrants over Haneda Attempted Robbery

Tokyo, July 21 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo police on Tuesday served fresh arrest warrants on four individuals aged 16 to 22 on suspicion of attempted robbery over their attack on a group transporting 195 million yen in cash at Haneda Airport in the Japanese capital in January. The Metropolitan Police Department did not reveal whether the four, including Yoshito Koyama, 20, believed to be the leader, have admitted to the allegations against them. The four allegedly stopped their car by the car of the four-member group at a multistory parking lot at the airport in the small hours of Jan. 30 and attempted to rob the group of the cash by using violence, such as spraying tear gas at a 51-year-old man, one of the members of the group. They fled without stealing anything. According to the MPD, the man was transporting cash obtained from gold transactions and through investments from acquaintances to Hong Kong, planning to exchange the money for crypto assets. Two of the four attacked individuals then traveled to Hong Kong, where they were robbed of about 51 million yen in cash. One of the two was arrested by local police along with others and later indicted. Koyama and the other three suspects have already been arrested on suspicion of attempted theft by trying to steal a travel bag from a man at the same parking lot about two minutes before the attempted robbery. It is believed that they mistook this man for their intended target. About two hours and a half before the attempted robbery, suitcases containing a total of about 420 million yen in cash, obtained partly through gold transactions, were stolen on a street in the Higashiueno district in Tokyo’s Taito Ward. The suitcases were reportedly being transported to Hong Kong, and the MPD is investigating the connection between the two incidents. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]