CHIBA (TR) – Nine Japanese nationals have been arrested upon their transfer from Laos for their alleged involvement in an international telephone scam ring where suspects impersonated police officers during video calls, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Oct. 2).
A joint investigation team from the Tochigi and Kanagawa prefectural police arrested the group—men and women ranging in age from 23 to 64, including a 41-year-old unemployed woman of no fixed address—on suspicion of attempted fraud.
Three of the suspects — Sayaka Abe, 41, Yuto Gushiken, 27, and Takahito Kondo, 49 — arrived at Narita International Airport on September 29.
Police have not disclosed whether the suspects have admitted to the charges.
Base raided
The ring carried out so-called tokushu sagi (“specialized fraud”) scams. In such a crime, a person poses as a policeman or other person of authority to swindle a victim.
According to investigators, the suspects operated as “callers” from a hideout in northern Laos. On June 17, the group allegedly targeted a man in his 60s residing in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture. Posing as law enforcement, they told the victim, “A mobile phone has been fraudulently registered in your name,” and threatened him with arrest if he did not pay a fabricated fee.
Taking the deception a step further, the group instructed the victim to download the messaging app Line to conduct a video call. During the call, a male suspect dressed in a police-like uniform flashed a forged police badge to convince the victim.
However, the scam was thwarted when Laotian authorities raided the overseas base shortly after the call was made. During the June raid, local police detained a total of 17 individuals, including the nine Japanese nationals and eight foreigners, and seized about 120 smartphones and computers.
Authorities noted that this marks the first time Japanese police have successfully dismantled a Japanese specialized fraud syndicate operating out of Laos.
