TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested six individuals, including high school students, over an attempted robbery at a Shinjuku Ward liquor store.
According to police, the suspects allegedly used bear repellent to subdue their targets, reports TBS News (May 25).
On April 7, the suspects, all residents of Tochigi Prefecture, include 20-year-old Shinya Adachi and two male high school students, targeted the liquor store, located in the Hyakunincho area.
The perpetrators allegedly disguised themselves as delivery workers to gain entry to the premises before discharging bear spray in an attempt to make off with cash and valuables.
Tochigi link
The investigation has uncovered a troubling link to a broader criminal network. The same liquor store was the target of an attempted theft earlier this year in March. However, investigators believe the perpetrators and coordinators behind the March incident belong to a completely different group.
Police suspect that lucrative target information is being actively shared and circulated among multiple tokuryu crime syndicates. Members of such a syndicate give and receive orders via smartphone apps.
Further deepening the investigation, authorities revealed a potential connection to a recent fatal crime. A suspicious black light passenger car believed to have been used in the March attempted theft matches the description of a vehicle spotted multiple times near the scene of a robbery-murder that occurred earlier this month in the town of Kaminokawa, Tochigi Prefecture.
Police are currently gathering intelligence and investigating the intricate background linking these violent incidents.
