Tokyo Police Arrest Exec of "JP Dragon" Crime Ring

Tokyo, Nov. 19 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo police on Tuesday arrested a senior member of the Philippines-based "JP Dragon" crime ring and two others on suspicion of stealing cash in a special fraud case, investigative sources said.

Tomohiro Koyama, 50, is believed to be the No. 3 member of the crime organization comprising former Japanese gangsters. He had been detained by authorities in the Philippines and was deported to Japan on the day.

Koyama was arrested for allegedly withdrawing about 700,000 yen in cash using the bank card of a woman in her 50s in Tokyo, a special fraud victim, in 2019.

Koyama, along with the two other suspects--Hiroki Nagaura, 26, and Eisei Miura, 41--is believed to have worked for a Philippines-based special fraud group led by Kiyoto Imamura, 40, who used the alias "Luffy." Imamura has been indicted in Japan.

According to investigative sources, Koyama is believed to have made a phone call from abroad to Imamura and told him not to mention Koyama's involvement.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]