TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested an organized crime member in the quick-strike theft of nearly two billion yen from ATMs nationwide earlier this year, reports TBS News (Nov. 18).
Police arrested Koki Yoshida, a 54-year-old upper-level member of the Yamaguchi-gumi, for allegedly conspiring with another gangster to use forged credit cards in the withdrawal of 3.5 million yen from ATMs at convenience stores in Shibuya Ward and other areas on May 15.
Yoshida is part of a gang of thieves that used similarly forged credit cards with data leaked from a bank in South Africa to steal approximately 1.86 billion yen from ATMs nationwide in 2.5 hours on that same day.
The gang targeted more than 1,400 ATMs in convenience stores in 17 administrative districts, including Tokyo and the prefectures of Kanagawa, Aichi, Osaka and Fukuoka.
Among those previously arrested was Satsuki Iwatani, a 37-year-old upper-level member of the Yamaguchi-gumi. Prior to the crime, Iwatani met with Tomoyuki Izumi, 34, at a restaurant in Shinjuku Ward to provide him with cards for the heist. Money withdrawn by Izumi was later passed to the suspects.
Police suspect that Yoshida served as an accomplice to Iwatani in carrying out the crime.