TOKYO (TR) – Following a pair of arrests of Kudo-kai gang members last week for involvement in the shooting of a construction company president in Kitakyushu in January, Fukuoka Prefectural Police on Tuesday raided the headquarters of the organized crime group, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Dec. 11).
At about 5:30 a.m. on January 17, Takashi Kurose, 52, president of contractor Kurose Construction, located in Nakama City, Fukuoka Prefecture was struck in the abdomen and arm by at least three rounds from a pistol-wielding assailant aged around 40 and wearing black clothing and a white face mask.
Officers from the anti-organized crime unit on January 18 searched the Kudo-kai headquarters, located in Kitakyushu City, and a number of other locations across the prefecture, including the residence of an upper Kudo-kai boss, Satoru Nomura.
On December 6, officers arrested Shinya Fukuda, 38, and Yoshiaki Fujino, 35, on attempted murder charges and for violating the Swords and Firearms Control Law.
Both suspects have reportedly denied the allegations.
Up to this point, investigators had seized clothing and cartridges of the same caliber handgun used in the crime. The cartridges contained the fingerprints of Fukuda, while traces of gunpowder residue were found on the clothing.
As a subcontractor to larger firms, Kurose Construction has participated in various gang-exclusion activities in the past. In 2011, the previous president attended a citizens rally to ban organized crime from Kitakyushu.
In 2005, bullets were fired into the residence of the previous president. Two days later, the Kudo-kai headquarters and a number of other gang-related locations were searched on suspicion of attempted murder.
Investigators also suspect that members of the Kudo-kai have participated in various other incidents this year.
On April 19, a gunman on a motorbike shot the left hip and thigh of 61-year-old Yasuo Hiroishi, a former detective with the Fukuoka Prefectural Police, as he walked to work.
In August and September, employees from various bars and restaurants in Kitakyushu that had posted the anti-gang emblem outside their establishments were victims of slashing incidents and other assaults.