TOKYO (TR) – As a part of an investigation into a member of a criminal syndicate suspected of repeatedly using counterfeit money, Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested his girlfriend for participating in the same crime, reports Fuji News Network (Feb. 29).
In August, Misuzu Taneichi, 24, and Keita Yoshiwara, a 22-year-old member of the Sumiyoshi-kai, allegedly passed two counterfeit 10,000-yen notes to clerks at stores in the town of Otaki, Chiba Prefecture to purchase two canned drinks. They then pocketed the change, which exceeded 19,500 yen.
During questioning, Taneichi denied the allegations. “I didn’t know the money was counterfeit,” the suspect was quoted by police. Meanwhile, Yoshiwara declined to comment on the allegations, police said.
Last month, police accused Yoshiwara of carrying out the very same crime at a convenience stores in Tokyo’s Koto and Sumida wards.
Yoshiwara is a member of a ring that used counterfeit bills in more than 50 locations in the Tokyo metropolitan area, including in Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures, police said previously.
