HIROSHIMA (TR) – Hiroshima Prefectural Police have served fresh arrest warrants to two women accused of attempting to traffic a man overseas to work as a caller in a telecom fraud syndicate, reports RCC Broadcasting (Sep. 7).
Company executive Riho Maehara, 32, and unemployed Yuka Matsumoto, 30, were re-arrested on Monday on suspicion of violating the Employment Security Act and attempted kidnapping for the purpose of transferring a person out of the country.
According to police, the male victim had previously interviewed for a construction job at Maehara’s company between February and March of this year, but was not hired. Sometime later, Matsumoto allegedly contacted the rejected applicant by phone, telling him, “I can introduce you to a job where you can make money overseas.”
Matsumoto then connected the man with a recruiter who outlined his duties as a kakeko — a caller who contacts and deceives victims in organized fraud scams.
The trafficking plot was foiled when the man grew suspicious of the illicit overseas operation and consulted local police.
Upon their arrest, both suspects denied the allegations. “I did not invite him to execute a crime,” Maehara told investigators. Matsumoto similarly feigned ignorance, claiming, “I know nothing about the facts of this matter.”
Police believe the women were acting as recruiters for a tokuryu syndicate, whose members communicate anonymously via smartphone apps.
Investigators are now working to unravel the full scope of the criminal network, suspecting that other vulnerable job seekers may have already been successfully trafficked overseas by the group.
