Latest news with #TokyoMetropolitanPolice
Tokyo Reported
4 days ago
- Tokyo Reported
Russian nabbed for attempted pickpocketing on Yamanote TokyoReporter
TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a male Russian national for allegedly attempting to pickpocket a commuter on the Yamanote Line last week, reports Fuji News Network (June 16). On the evening of June 13, Shemshukevich Vitaly, 46, allegedly reached inside the bag of a man inside a crowded carriage near Shinjuku Station during rush-hour. Two railway police officers then grabbed him from behind. Upon his arrest on suspicion of attempted theft, Vitaly denied the charges. 'I haven't done anything wrong. The zipper on my bag is closed, so there's no way it could have been opened,' he told the Shinjuku Police Station. Before the incident, Vitaly stood in front of the male commuter carrying the bag. He draped his clothes over his arm so his hands weren't visible. He then put his other hand in the pocket of the commuter's bag. Shemshukevich Vitaly (X) Pickpocketing pro Police have been wary of Vitaly for some time. He has entered and left the country about 20 times in the past two years. According to police, pickpocketing has been a regular practice for him during those times. Fourteen cases have been reported. One of them took place on June 6, when Vitaly committed the crime right in front of Tokyo Metropolitan Police officers on alert. Police said that there had been 127 cases of pickpocketing this year as of the end of May. This is already 1.6 times the number over the same period in 2024.
Tokyo Reported
7 days ago
- Tokyo Reported
Chinese ring suspected of using cryptocurrency to launder ¥50 billion in fraud proceeds
TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have announced the arrests of five Chinese nationals who are suspected of operating from a base in the capital and using cryptocurrency to launder around 50 billion yen obtained from fraud victims, reports NHK (June 13). According to police, Lin Mingwang, 38, and his accomplices allegedly laundered 80 million yen at the request of an investment fraud group based in Thailand and Vietnam, converted the money into cryptocurrency and then returned it to the fraud group. Police did not reveal whether the suspects admit to violating the Organized Crime Punishment Act. Police believe the group made it difficult to trace the funds by passing them through multiple corporate accounts, as well as cryptocurrency and overseas accounts. Lin Mingwang (X) Lin who is an executive at a real estate company in Adachi Ward. He is said to be the ringleader. Another suspect, 45-year-old Qu Sihao, lives in Kyoto City, Kyot Prefecture. In one case, the suspects received funds into their account from a man in his 70s from Nara City, Nara Prefecture. The man had been swindled on social media by one of the aforementioned investment fraud groups. Lin's ring is believed to have managed approximately 300 corporate accounts. Some of these accounts were provided by Qu. The total amount of funds transferred between the accounts was approximately 50 billion yen. Police are continuing the investigation.
Tokyo Reported
7 days ago
- Tokyo Reported
Yazuka members concealed gang affiliations for hotel party in Yamanashi
TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested five men, including a senior member of the Sumiyoshi-kai yakuza syndicate, for staying at a hotel while concealing their gang affiliations. In March 2023, Sumiyoshi-kai executive Kazuyuki Tajima, 53, Utaro Shirai, a 53-year-old member of the quasi-criminal ring Chinese Dragon, and three others are suspected of conspiring with their comrades to make reservations to stay at the hotel in Yamanashi Prefecture. In Yamanashi, gang members are prohibited from staying at hotels. Police did not reveal whether the suspects admit to allegations of fraud. Kazuyuki Tajima of the Sumiyoshi-kai (X) According to police, Tajima and his accomplices also rented out a hotel restaurant for a 'sake ceremony' to form an alliance with individuals believed to be members of the Chinese mafia group 14K. About 30 persons attended. Video footage of the party showed Shirai and other members of Chinese Dragon acting as intermediaries between the gangsters from the two countries. Police are currently investigating the relationship between the two Japanese criminal organizations and the Chinese mafia.
Japan Times
10-06-2025
- Japan Times
Tokyo police's undercover probe reveals 'dark' part-time job suspect
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department said Monday that its undercover investigation identified last month a yami baito "dark" part-time job suspect. It was the first time for police to detect a suspect under the investigation method introduced in January. The MPD's First Criminal Investigation Division said the identified person is suspected of playing a part in an attempted scam case in the greater Tokyo area. The probe also uncovered the target of the yami baito job ring and prevented any actual damage from occurring. The division declined to say when and where the suspect was detected and who the person is, as well as what the suspect was doing as a member of the ring and whether an arrest was made. Only limited information on the suspect was made available to the public because the police need to hide their methods from the group and secure investigators' safety, they said. Undercover investigations, in which officers disguise themselves as applicants for part-time jobs posted on social media by anonymous crime rings, are designed to crack down on robberies and specific types of fraud committed by the fluid crime rings, such as phone fraud and online investment and romance scams. In January, the National Police Agency released guidelines allowing undercover officers to send fake identification documents and photos to crime groups to obtain information on planned crimes from those acting as commanders and arrest yami baito part-timers before they carry out the crimes.
Tokyo Reported
10-06-2025
- Tokyo Reported
Saitama woman, yakuza suspected of forcing runaway girl, 14, into prostitution
TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a woman living in Saitama Prefecture and a member of a criminal syndicate for allegedly forcing a 14-year-old runaway girl into prostitution last year, reports the Sankei Shimbun (June 9). On two occasions between December 23 and 28, Chihiro Fushimi, 32, and Masaru Minowa, a 33-year-old member of the Yamaguchi-gumi, are alleged to have forced the girl to engage in lewd acts with a man at a hotel in Saitama. Upon their arrests on suspicion of violating the Child Welfare Act and the Anti-Prostitution Law, the suspects admitted to the allegations. 'I made her do it to earn money,' and Minowa said. At the time, the girl was a third-year middle school student. Last November, Fushimi met the girl on a social-networking site. Chihiro Fushimi, left, and Masaru Minowa When the suspect found out that the girl had run away from home, she invited her to live at her residence in Kasukabe City. She then encouraged the girl to engage in prostitution. Minowa is an acquaintance of Fushimi. Together, they posed as the girl online to recruit customers interested in arrangements known as papakatsu , or compensated dating. The suspects drove the girl to met the men contacted online. Fushima and Minowa collected 120,000 yen from the girl's customers. The girl stayed at Fushimi's house for six days. She then returned to her parents. The incident came to light when her parents filed a missing persons report. Police have also sent documents on the pair to prosecutions on suspicion of non-consensual sexual intercourse.
