TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a married couple and two accomplices for allegedly breaking into a secondhand shop in Shinjuku Ward and making off with 1 million yen worth of electronics, reports TBS News (Sep. 14).
Kaishi Oikawa, 24, and his 23-year-old wife, Ririka, are believed to be the masterminds behind the March heist. Also taken into custody were 30-year-old company employee Takashi Mimizuka and another unnamed male.
The group is accused of conspiring to infiltrate the Shinjuku appraisal shop, stealing 37 items —including multiple iPads — valued at approximately 1 million yen.
Police say the couple orchestrated the break-in from the shadows, with Ririka allegedly issuing strict orders to the perpetrators on the ground, warning them, “Watch out for the security cameras.”
During police questioning, Mimizuka admitted to the allegations, shedding light on the group’s underground recruitment methods. “I applied for a driver job on social media,” he told investigators.
The Oikawa couple and the fourth suspect are currently maintaining their silence or denying the charges.
Investigators believe the crew is heavily linked to the growing available of yami-baito (“dark part-time jobs”). Kaishi Oikawa was previously arrested in connection to a separate, brazen robbery at a Tokyo pawnshop that also occurred in March.
The Metropolitan Police Department is now investigating the extent of Kaishi’s criminal network, suspecting him to be a key coordinator in a string of crimes relying on disposable recruits hired through social media.
