TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a man believed to be a criminal “information broker” who fed targets to a burglary ring that later scouted the scene of a fatal robbery in Tochigi Prefecture, reports Nippon News Network (Oct. 7).
Takumi Kurokawa is accused of conspiring with accomplices to break into a precious metals shop in Shinjuku Ward in May. The crew allegedly made off with cash and a safe containing valuables worth approximately 25 million yen.
Investigators suspect Kurokawa operated as an anken-ya (target broker) — a figure in the criminal underworld who supplies lucrative intelligence to robbery and theft groups. Two other men belonging to the burglary ring were also taken into custody.
The case takes a darker turn, as police revealed the theft ring is believed to have conducted advance reconnaissance at a residence in the town of Kaminokawa, Tochigi Prefecture, also in May. That home later became the scene of a brutal robbery-murder.
Tokyo police have not disclosed whether Kurokawa and his associates have admitted to the allegations against them.
Investigators are now working to track down the unidentified mastermind, who is suspected of pulling the strings for the crimes.
