TOKYO (TR) - Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested three men and women for allegedly breaking into the home of financial products trader in Toshima Ward and stealing a large amount of cash, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Dec. 9).
At around 5:00 p.m. on April 2, Koji Niihara, 45, Mitsuo Matsushita, 67, and Aiya Chiba, 34, allegedly orchestrated the break-in at the home of a male victim, aged in his 50s, and the theft of 12 million yen in cash.
Upon their arrests on suspicion of breaking and entering and theft, two suspects denied the allegations. The third has chose to remain silent, police said.
The victim is a financial product trader who had received cash and other items from several people the day before the theft. The cash was divided into over a dozen envelopes. The victim was out at the time of the theft.
According to police, Niihara and Matsushita are suspected of being the ringleaders. Through a man acting as a recruiter, they gathered three men in their 20s to 60s to carry out the theft. The group used a ladder to break into a second-story window of the home.
Meanwhile, Chiba is believed to have collected the cash and handed it over to Niihara and others.
Police are investigating the possibility that Niihara and his accomplices knew in advance that a large amount of cash was in the victim’s home.
