TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested four men, including a member of a criminal syndicate, over the alleged abduction of a male executive in Chuo Ward earlier this year, reports Kyodo News (Nov. 11).
According to police, Hiroshi Hariyama, a 69-year-old member of the Sumiyoshi-kai, was the likely ringleader of the operation.
On the afternoon of August 18, three persons abducted the executive, a Chinese national aged 66, as he pedaled a bicycle in the posh Ginza district and shoved him into a white van.
After dousing the victim with pepper spray, they blindfolded him and bound his limbs with tape. They also demanded 30 million yen in cash.
About five hours later, at around 10:00 p.m., the abductors released the executive at a parking lot for a hotel in Katsuura City, Chiba Prefecture.
The victim was not hurt in the incident, police said previously.
Police did not reveal whether the suspects admit to the allegations.
The suspects became persons of interest in the crime after an examination of security camera footage.
