TOKYO — Tokyo Metropolitan Police conducted raids on multiple yakuza offices on Thursday in connection with a brazen street robbery in Taito Ward earlier this year that netted perpetrators over 400 million yen, reports Fuji News Network (Apr. 2).
The searches targeted three locations, including the headquarters of the Sumiyoshi-kai in Minato Ward and an office of the Kyokuto-kai syndicate, based in Shinjuku Ward’s Kabukicho nightlife district.
The raids follow the recent arrests of Jinryu Kano, a 21-year-old executive of the Yamaguchi-gumi criminal syndicate, and six other suspects over their alleged involvement in the incident.
On the night of January 29, the group allegedly ambushed a man on a street in the Ueno area of Taito and blinding him with pepper spray before making off with 423 million yen in cash.
According to investigators, two of the other six suspects are known members of the Sumiyoshi-kai and Kyokuto-kai crime syndicates.
Police suspect the rival organizations formed an underworld alliance, joining forces specifically to carry out the highly lucrative robbery.
Authorities are now tracking the money trail, investigating the strong possibility that the stolen 423 million yen was funneled back into the syndicates to fund organized crime operations.
