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Niigata cops nab yakuza in nationwide ATM heist

Suspects targeted 11 ATMs at 7-Eleven convenience stores in 5 cities in Niigata Prefecture
Suspects targeted 11 ATMs at 7-Eleven convenience stores in 5 cities in Niigata Prefecture

NIIGATA (TR) – Niigata Prefectural Police on Tuesdsay announced the arrest of an organized crime member in the quick-strike theft of nearly two billion yen from ATMs nationwide earlier this year, reports the Mainichi Shimbun (July 12).

Police arrested Junya Tanaka, a 35-year-old member of the Yamaguchi-gumi, and 10 other persons, including a construction worker and restaurant employee, for allegedly using forged credit cards to withdraw 11.4 million yen from 11 ATMs at 7-Eleven convenience stores in five cities in the prefecture on May 15.

The suspects are a part of a gang of thieves that used similarly forged credit cards with data leaked from a bank in South Africa to steal approximately 1.86 billion yen from ATMs nationwide in 2.5 hours.

The gang targeted more than 1,400 ATMs in convenience stores in 17 administrative districts, including Tokyo and the prefectures of Kanagawa, Aichi, Osaka and Fukuoka.

In Niigata, a total of about 70 convenience store ATMs were targeted with the losses totaling around 88 million yen.