KANAGAWA (TR) – Kanagawa Prefectural Police have arrested five persons, including a male national of the Philippines, over the alleged robbery of a pachinko parlor in Yokohama City earlier this year, reports TBS News (Sept. 30).
At around 10:50 a.m. on April 10, three perpetrators broke into a shop attached to the parlor that redeems playing balls for cash and prizes and beat a male part-time employee, 71, in the face.
They then fled the scene with about 12 million yen in cash. The employee suffered minor injuries, police said previously.
Police have arrested Ryu Lobenaria, a 21-year-old painter living in Fujisawa City, and four youths, aged between 16 and 19, in the case. “I am not an offender,” Lobenaria was quoted by police in denying the allegations. The four youths have declined to comment.
Lobenaria and the other suspects surfaced as persons of interest in the case after an examination of security camera footage.
Police are now investigating whether the suspects were behind four other robberies of pachinko parlors in the prefecture this year.