HYOGO (TR) – As a part of an investigation into a fraud ring that swindled dozens of persons, Tokyo Metropolitan Police raided the headquarters of the Yamaguchi-gumi organized crime group in Kobe on Tuesday, reports TBS News (Oct. 9).
At around 11:00 a.m., about 70 officers entered the gang’s headquarters, located in Nada Ward, in search of evidence connected to a ring that is believed to have swindled at least 85 persons nationwide out of around 100 million yen between October of last year and May.
Last week, police announced the arrest of Koji Fujii, a 56-year-old executive in the Osaka-based Nakajima-gumi, a second-tier gang of the Yamaguchi-gumi, who is believed to have headed the ring. Police have also arrested Shingo Tsurumi, a 53-year-old member of the same gang, and five other persons.
In a specific case cited by police, a man aged in his 70s and living in the capital was told over the telephone by a person posing a bank employee that he was eligible for a medical expense refund in February. The suspects later pulled 1.5 million yen from an account belonging to the man via an ATM machine.
Fujii, who has been accused of electronic fraud, denies the allegations, police said.
