TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested three males, including a 16-year-old boy, on suspicion of preparing to rob a person during a gold transaction in Taito Ward, reports Fuji News Network (July 26).
The suspects include Koichi Kauan Scatamburlo, a 20-year-old Brazilian national, and 34-year-old Shota Tsunoda. The trio is accused of arming themselves with tear gas spray and other weapons on July 24 with the intent to ambush and rob a targeted victim who was arriving for a gold exchange.
The plot unraveled when police officers stopped the 16-year-old suspect on the street for voluntary questioning. Found to be carrying a telescopic police baton, the teen bluntly confessed. “I applied for a ‘dark job’ and I am going to commit a robbery,” he said in using the term yami-baito.
He was arrested on the spot, leading officers to apprehend Tsunoda and the other suspect who were lurking nearby.
Investigators believe the three men were acting as pawns, communicating with each other via a highly encrypted messaging app. Police suspect the incident is tied to a tokuryu ring, an anonymous crime syndicate whose members communicate using smartphone apps — and are currently hunting for the mastermind who orchestrated the plot and issued the instructions.
