On 21 July, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department re-arrested four individuals in connection with an attempted 195 million yen (JPY) (S$1,543,000) robbery at Haneda Airport in January.
Those arrested include a 22-year-old man, two 20-year-old men, and a 16-year-old high school boy.
Suspect Yoshito Koyama enters Kitazawa Police Station. Source: Sankei
According to an NHK report, a group of four men were transporting the money to Hong Kong for their work in the trading of precious metals.
When they arrived at the carpark at around 12.10am, they were intercepted by the four youths, who even sprayed tear gas at one of the victims, a man in his 50s.
Police believe that the suspects had known the license plate numbers of the victims’ cars and that one of them had tracked the victims and sent their location to the other attackers.
Source: NHK
Fortunately, one of the victims had closed the car door when the attack occurred, so the cash remained safe.
The suspects had previously been arrested on 1 Feb for attempting to rob two bags from a man in his 20s in the same parking lot shortly before the incident.
It is believed that they had mistakenly targeted the man in his 20s, thinking he was with the group carrying JPY195 million.
Following the attack, two of the victims continued to transport the cash to Hong Kong.
However, the man in his 50s was robbed of his backpack, which contained around JPY51 million (S$x410,000).
In relation to this incident, Hong Kong police have arrested six suspects, including three Japanese nationals.
Among them is a Japanese national who reported the theft to the police, claiming to be the victim, and is suspected of providing information to the group.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department believes the man in his 50s may have been targeted because his detailed schedule was leaked.
They are working with the Hong Kong police in investigating possible connections to the incidents in Japan and Hong Kong.
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Featured image adapted from NHK and Sankei.