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Tokyo cops nab yakuza for smuggling ¥500 million in gold in private jet

Toshiyuki Matsuda
Toshiyuki Matsuda

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested two organized crime members over the alleged smuggling of nearly 500 million yen in gold via a private jet, reports Fuji News Network (June 9).

In December, Toshiyuki Matsuda, a 44-year-old member of the Inagawa-kai, and fellow gang member Hiroaki Izumi, 44, allegedly smuggled 112 kilograms of gold from Macau to Naha Airport in Okinawa Prefecture inside a private jet.

A customs inspector found the gold, which had been packed in four suitcases, in a cargo hold of the aircraft. The gold has an estimated value of 480 million yen.

Four other persons, including the president of an aircraft company, Junichi Nagano, 65, were also arrested in the case, according to Nippon News Network (June 9).

Since the gold was not declared with customs officials, police suspect that Matsuda smuggled the precious metal in order to evade paying taxes of 38 million yen. An investigation is now underway to determine if the group had committed a similar crime previously.

It is believed the gold was to be used to fund operations of the Inagawa-kai.