FUKUOKA (TR) — Police have arrested a 25-year-old unemployed man from Fukuoka City for allegedly trafficking a young woman to Cambodia to work as a caller in a telephone fraud syndicate, reports TBS News (May 21).
Ibuki Muto is accused of kidnapping for the purpose of overseas transport. According to police, Muto lured the 22-year-old victim — a resident of Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture — between March and June of last year with promises of lucrative work, boasting to her, “Some people make 5 million yen in a month.”
Police have not disclosed whether Muto has admitted to the allegations.
The suspect and the victim had originally met on social media two years ago. Investigators allege that Muto arranged for the woman to travel to Cambodia via Vietnam in August.
He reportedly concealed the true nature of the trip: that she was being sent to work in a ring specializing in tokushu sagi (specialized fraud).
In such a ring, members pose on the telephone as police officers or other persons in authority to swindle victims. In this case, she was to serve as a kakeko (caller).
Upon arriving in Cambodia, the woman had her smartphone confiscated and was forced to undergo training to make scam calls. However, before she could actively participate in defrauding victims, she managed to secretly retrieve her phone. She then sent a desperate email to Japanese police pleading for help and was subsequently rescued and placed under protection.
Investigators believe he operated as a recruiter for a larger international fraud syndicate and are continuing their probe into the organization.
