HOKKAIDO (TR) – Police in Sapporo City have arrested three 18-year-old boys on suspicion of extortion after they allegedly shook down a man who had taken an underage girl to a hotel earlier this year, reports STV News (June 24).
The suspects — identified as a restaurant worker and a high school student from Sapporo, along with a self-proclaimed construction worker from Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture — are accused of extorting approximately 400,000 yen in cash from a 28-year-old company employee.
According to the Sapporo-Kita Police Station, the incident took place on the evening of April 15,. The victim had approached a teenage girl on the street and subsequently went to a hotel with her.
As the man and the girl exited the hotel, they were suddenly ambushed by the three suspects, whom the victim did not know.
“Did you know she’s a minor?” the teens allegedly told the man. “Do you know how much settlement money is?”
Intimidated by the group, the man went to an ATM, withdrew the cash, and handed it over to the suspects inside a nearby shop in the Minami area of Chuo Ward.
Investigators uncovered the extortion plot while probing an entirely unrelated case. Security camera footage from the surrounding streets led police to identify and arrest the trio, with the arrests announced on June 23.
Police believe the teenage girl is an acquaintance of the boys and are currently investigating her role in the setup.
