TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested two men on suspicion of fraud following their extradition from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over their alleged roles as callers in a major yakuza-connected telephone scam syndicate, reports Fuji News Network (Oct. 28).
The suspects, identified as Koyo Sano, 25, and Sho Okauchi, 26, both of unknown address and occupation, were taken into custody after being flown back to Japan from the UAE.
According to police, the pair operated as kakeko (callers) while moving between various business hotels. They targeted elderly victims by posing as their sons in distress.
Sano is accused of conning two elderly women in Tokyo out of a combined 39 million yen in cash. Okauchi allegedly defrauded a woman in her 70s living in Chiba City out of 2 million yen.
Investigators believe the duo operated under the direction of a ringleader affiliated with Kohei-ikka, a secondary faction of the designated yakuza syndicate Sumiyoshi-kai.
The criminal activity, which took place across 10 prefectures between April 2022 and May 2023, is believed to have involved approximately 170 incidents, resulting in total losses of about 570 million yen.
Police are currently working to uncover the full scope of the syndicate’s operations and money-laundering routes.
