TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a taxi driver for allegedly drugging and robbing a female passenger earlier this year. The suspect could be behind several similar cases that have taken place in the capital this year, police said, reports Jiji Press (Oct. 30).
Sometime between the morning and afternoon of August 20, Satoshi Tanaka, 53, allegedly tricked a teenage girl to consume sleeping pills after she boarded his cab in Shibuya Ward. Once she passed out, he robbed her of about 40,000 yen in cash.
Upon his arrest on suspicion of robbery via drugging on Wednesday, Tanaka, who lives in Edogawa Ward, denied the allegations.
At around 8:40 a.m., the girl left a restaurant and got into the suspect’s taxi. At some point, he said, “You look sick.” She then consumed the pills with water. Afterwards, she became drowsy.
About four and a half hours later, the woman was found asleep in a parking lot in Maruyamacho, Shibuya. She was then taken to the hospital by ambulance
At the hospital, the ingredients of the sleeping pills were detected in her urine, police said.
An SD card used to store data for the dashcam was found to be missing, leading police to suspect that Tanaka tried to destroy evidence.
This year, police have received several inquiries from people who claim to have lost their memory their memory after getting in a taxi. Police are investigating whether the case involving the girl is related to the others.
