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Four Vietnamese suspected in theft of 11 cars in Tochigi


TOCHIGI (TR) – Four Vietnamese men have been arrested in connection with the theft of 11 cars from a dealership in Otawara City last year. Three of the suspects had already been arrested for the same crime in neighboring prefectures, police said, reports NHK (Jan. 30).

“This is a profitable business. I sold one of the cars I stole for 310,000 yen. The other one was for 290,000 yen.”

The quote was taken from a recording made by the dashboard camera of a vehicle stolen by the ring.

The three arrested, all of whom are Vietnamese, include 24-year-old Tran Duc Luong. They are suspected of stealing 11 cars on display at Honda Cars Nozaki in Otawara City last August. They also pilfered about 4.5 million yen in cash from a safe on the premises.

Several security cameras installed at the store captured multiple people walking around the office and parking lot. They then get into cars and drive off.

The four were identified from the footage and evidence left in the stolen cars that were later found.

Police have not revealed whether the three have admitted to the crimes. However, one suspect said that they “joined the criminal group after being recruited on social media.”

Masami Matsumoto, the manager of Honda Cars Nozaki, spoke to the network. “I’m very relieved that the suspects were caught,” he said, “but I hope they catch the rest of the perpetrators, and if they catch the mastermind, maybe we can prevent these kinds of incidents from happening again.”

Three of the four suspects had already been arrested and indicted for stealing cars using a similar method in Niigata and Yamanashi prefectures.