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Tokyo cops bust ring suspected in prostitute scam in Ikebukuro

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have busted a six-person ring that is believed to have swindled dozens of men by falsely promising to provide prostitutes in Toshima Ward, reports the Asahi Shimbun (April 28).

On February 27, Ryoma Ishikawa, 31, Yusuke Ito, 32, and four accomplices, aged in their 20s and 30s, are alleged to have swindled three men, aged in their 20s, out of a total of 96,000 yen in Ikebukuro.

“A girl will go to a hotel with you,” the suspects told the victims. However, after the victims paid the suspects, no women appeared at the designated hotel.

Ryoma Ishikawa, left, and Takahashi Sato (Twitter)

Over the past year, the ring is believed to have swindled about 200 persons out of around 55 million yen.

In carrying out the scam, the victims were told that upfront money was needed as insurance against cancellation. “It is for the woman’s safety,” they were told.

The arrest is not the first for Ishikawa. In 2018, police accused him for carrying out a similar ruse in Kabukicho.