Four men suspected to be senior members of a crime ring have been indicted for orchestrating a robbery from the Philippines that resulted in injuries in western Tokyo last year.
Police suspect one of the four ringleaders, Kiyoto Imamura, 39, used the pseudonym “Luffy” when planning the crime and instructing subordinates.
With the four indictments Tuesday, including Yuki Watanabe, 39, Toshiya Fujita, 39, and Tomonobu Kojima, 46, all perpetrators who allegedly gave instructions to their subordinates in eight main robbery cases now face criminal charges.
The crime ring is suspected of being involved in a total of over 50 cases of robbery, theft and other crimes across 14 prefectures. While those who gave the instructions called themselves Luffy, “Kim,” and “Mitsuhashi,” among others, perpetrators of the actual robberies were individuals enticed via social media with promises of lucrative “part-time jobs.”
Tokyo police and the prefectural police forces of Chiba, Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Yamaguchi prefectures have been jointly investigating the incidents.
The four ringleaders are accused of planning the execution of a home invasion in the city of Inagi, western Tokyo, in October last year, beating its resident and robbing her of gold and cash, according to the police investigation.
Tokyo prosecutors indicted Watanabe and Fujita with a charge of robbery resulting in injury over a crime in Chiba Prefecture in January as well.
Imamura, Watanabe and Fujita were also indicted on charges of robbery resulting in the death of a 90-year-old woman at her home in the city of Komae, western Tokyo, in January.
The four are suspected of coordinating robberies using an encrypted messaging app while being held at an immigration facility in Manila. They were deported to Japan from the Philippines in February this year.