IBARAKI (TR) — Police here have arrested a Pakistani national for attempting to smuggle the engines of 15 stolen luxury vehicles from a scrapyard to the United Arab Emirates, reports TV Asahi (Apr. 21).
Izatollah, a 42-year-old company executive and yard manager residing in Bando City, is facing charges of violating the Act on Punishment of Organized Crimes related to the concealment of criminal proceeds, police announced on Tuesday.
Between January 9 and 14, the suspect allegedly loaded 15 engines stripped from stolen luxury vehicles into a cargo container at a yard he manages in Shimotsuma City. He then attempted to export the contraband from Yokohama Port’s Honmoku Pier to the UAE.
The illicit cargo, valued at approximately 11.7 million yen, included engines from high-end Toyota and Lexus models—specifically three Land Cruisers, three Alphards, five Lexus RXs, and four Lexus LSs. Most of the vehicles had been stolen from the southern and western areas of Ibaraki Prefecture, as well as neighboring Tochigi Prefecture.
The scheme unraveled after Ibaraki Prefectural Police spotted luxury vehicles frequently being transported into the Shimotsuma yard. Acting on intelligence shared by the prefectural police, Yokohama Customs inspected a container registered under Izatollah’s name in early February and discovered the stolen engines.
The arrest was made by a joint task force consisting of the Ibaraki Prefectural Police and Tokyo Metropolitan Police. Authorities have not disclosed whether the suspect has admitted to the allegations.
Investigators are continuing to probe the suspect’s potential links to an organized car theft ring and are looking into further related crimes.
