TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested two men on suspicion of preparing to rob a residence in Koganei City.
Police say Yusei Hoshiba, 30, and Ryuji Yamakawa, 20, were recruited through “dark job” postings on social media, reports Fuji News Network (May 24).
Hoshiba and Yamakawa were apprehended at around 4:30 a.m. on Sunday. Officers found the pair carrying screwdrivers and other tools, allegedly gearing up to break into a local home.
Police did not reveal whether the suspects admit to allegations of attempted robbery.
Police had been staking out the targeted residence after discovering evidence of multiple trespassing attempts earlier in May. Anticipating a full-scale robbery, officers set up a perimeter and waited for the suspects to strike.
At the time of the bust, one of the suspects was actively communicating on a highly encrypted messaging app. The other admitted to applying for a “high-paying part-time job” (often referred to as yami-baito, or “dark job”) advertised on social media.
Highlighting the increasingly fragmented nature of modern Japanese organized crime, one suspect told investigators they had never even met before gathering for the planned heist.
Investigators are treating the case as the work of a tokuryu group, whose leaders recruit disposable pawns over via encrypted smartphone apps to carry out robberies and scams.
Investigators are continuing to probe the criminal network and are currently tracking down other potential accomplices believed to have fled the area.
