TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested two suspects, including a 34-year-old member of a criminal syndicate, over the alleged theft of a Toyota Alphard in Saitama Prefecture earlier this year, reports Nippon News Network (Nov. 5).
At around 3:30 a.m. on January 21, Eisaku Yukira, member of the Kohei-ikka, an affiliate gang of the the Sumiyoshi-kai, and Masaki Tachihara, 33, of no known occupation, allegedly stole the Toyota Alphard (valued at 6 million yen) from a parking lot in Kawaguchi City.
When questioned, Yukira denied the charges. He said. “I don’t know the facts.” Meanwhile, Tachihara has declined to comment.
To arrive at the scene, Yukira and Tachihara came on a single motorcycle. They then used a so-called “CAN Invader” (Controller Area Network) device to bypass the vehicle’s anti-theft technology and unlock it.
Since January of last year, Tachihara is believed to have paired up with multiple accomplices in the theft of about 90 luxury vehicles, including Toyota Land Cruiser and Alphard models, with a total value of 350 million yen in Tokyo, Saitama and other areas.
