HYOGO (TR) – Hyogo Prefectural Police are investigating a vehicle-ramming incident in Kobe that is believed to be connected to last year’s dissolution of the Yamaguchi-gumi organized crime group, reports TV Asahi (Mar. 19).
At approximately 4:30 a.m. on Saturday, a two-ton dump truck slammed into the entrance door of an office of an affiliate gang of the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi in the Kanocho area of Chuo Ward. The truck was left at the scene with its engine running.
According to officers from the Ikuto Police Station, there were two gang members inside the office at the time of the attack but there were no reports of injuries.
The Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi formed following the dissolution of the Yamaguchi-gumi last summer.
Police are viewing the incident as a part of the ongoing feud between the two gangs that has escalated in recent weeks. On March 7, the National Police Agency formally acknowledged that a “state of confrontation” now exists.
