Post by : Shakul

Police in Tokyo have arrested seven men in connection with a major street robbery in which about ¥423 million ($2.8 million) in cash was stolen from a group of foreign nationals earlier this year.

According to investigators from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, the suspects allegedly targeted a 43-year-old Chinese man and six associates who were preparing to transport large amounts of cash from Tokyo to Hong Kong.

The robbery took place late on January 29 in Tokyo’s Ueno district when the victims were loading three suitcases containing the cash into a vehicle. Authorities believe the money was intended for a gold purchase in Hong Kong.

Police say at least three of the arrested suspects are senior members of organized crime groups. Investigators suspect the group received inside information about the victims’ movements and planned the robbery in advance with another unidentified accomplice.

According to the investigation, three attackers carried out the robbery while four accomplices waited nearby to assist their escape. The suspects fled in a small vehicle driven by one accomplice before transferring to a van driven by another suspect.

During their escape, the vehicle was also allegedly involved in a hit-and-run incident involving a pedestrian in his 50s, who was walking near the scene of the crime.

Authorities say the suspects eventually fled toward Chiba Prefecture, located east of Tokyo.

The case appears to be linked to two additional robberies that occurred the same night. About two and a half hours after the Ueno attack, another group transporting roughly ¥190 million in cash was targeted in a parking lot near Haneda Airport in Tokyo.

Two of the victims managed to board a flight to Hong Kong with the money, but they were reportedly attacked again after arriving and robbed of approximately ¥51 million on a street there.

Police in Hong Kong later arrested six individuals connected to that robbery. Investigators believe one of the victims from the Haneda Airport incident may have secretly cooperated with the criminals by providing details about the transport route.

Japanese authorities are now working with international law-enforcement agencies, including Interpol, to determine whether the three robberies were coordinated by the same criminal network.

The investigation remains ongoing as police examine possible links between the suspects and organized crime groups operating across Japan and Hong Kong.

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