TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a member of a criminal syndicate over the alleged blackmailing of a man in Shinjuku Ward earlier this year, reports the Sankei Shimbun (June 30).
At around 2:00 p.m. on March 29, Shinji Ijima, a 33-year-old member of the Sumiyoshi-kai‘s Kohei-Ikka gang, allegedly demanding money from a man, aged in his 50s, at a cafe in Shinjuku Ward
“You can report me to the police, but I don’t think anything will happen after that,” he reportedly threatened. “Prepare one million yen as an apology.” The suspect then collected 500,000 yen in cash from the victim on a street in the Kabukicho red-light district
Upon his arrest on suspicion of extortion, Ijima denied the allegations. He told the Shinjuku Police Station, I borrowed, “I borrowed the money with [the victim’s] consent.”
According to the police station, the victim had been soliciting customers on the streets of Kabukicho until about a year ago. Police believe that he had been in a dispute with Ijima, who had been stealing his customers.
On the day of the incident, the victim telephoned the Shinjuku Police Station. “I’ve been called out by a gang member I know.” He then lodged a complaint.
