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Ex-gang member busted for theft of iPhone 5 handsets in Kansai

Yuka Yamada
Yuka Yamada
TOKYO (TR) – Police officers from five prefectures, including Osaka, Kyoto, and Shiga announced on Friday the arrest of an ex-member of an organized crime group for the theft of iPhone 5 units last year, reports news wire Jiji Press (Aug. 2).

On July 31, officers took former yakuza Yuka Yamada, 45, and a 38-year-old Korean national into custody for the alleged robbery of 42 iPhone 5 units (worth 1.65 million yen) from a mobile phone shop in Kusatsu City, Shiga Prefecture early on September 21, the day mobile phone was first issued for sale in Japan.

The pair are accused of breaking a glass door and using a crowbar to pry open a locker containing the handsets in the shop’s office. Three days later, the pair sold the merchandise to a recycle shop in Kyoto for 200,000 yen.

In the Kansai area, 226 iPhone units were stolen from 10 shops, said police, who are investigating whether the two suspects played a role in the other robberies.

In May, Yamada was prosecuted for the murder of a male acquaintance last year. In November, the victim was shot in Kobe and carried by car to Kobe Harbor, where his body was dumped.