FUKUOKA (TR) – Fukuoka Prefectural Police arrested seven men on Tuesday for their alleged involvement in the robbery of nearly 400 million yen in cash in Fukuoka City earlier this year, reports TV Asahi (Oct. 31).
Police believe Yoshiaki Tobo, a 44-year-old resident of Tokyo’s Katsushika Ward, and Keita Hirai, 25, organized the robbery of a 29-year-old male company employee from Tokyo’s Adachi Ward that took place on April 20 in the Tenjin area of Fukuoka City.
At around 12:25 p.m. that day, two persons sprayed the victim with a tear gas-like substance in a parking lot in front of a branch of Mizuho Bank located in the Tenjin area before snatching a suitcase containing 384 million yen in cash.
The assailants then fled the scene inside a white van, which was driven by a third suspect.
According to police, the victim came to Fukuoka to buy gold. Prior to the robbery, he withdrew the cash in two 190-million-yen increments.
The seven suspects, who have been accused of robbery resulting in injury, are based in the Kanto and Kansai areas, police said. They are believed to have traveled to Fukuoka by Shinkansen bullet train, car and airplane.
According to the National Police Agency, the heist is the fourth-largest on record nationwide.
