OSAKA (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police have arrested a gang of six males for kidnapping a man in Nara City, Nara Prefecture and attempting to sell him, Yomiuri TV (July 1).
The six suspects accused of kidnapping, confinement and attempted human trafficking include Jun Kamihira, 30, Riki Takano, 24, Yusuke Okazaki, 23, and three male juveniles aged 17 to 19.
In April, the six are suspected of dragging the man, 20, into a car from a street in Nara and imprisoning him in an apartment in Higashiosaka City, Osaka Prefecture.
Takano then attempted to sell him to Kamihira for 200,000 yen in cash.
Police did not reveal whether the suspects admit to the allegations.
“Stripped naked”
Kamihira and Okazaki are both office workers living in Osaka City.
According to the police, Kamihira is the leader of Matsumoto Kuruu, a hangure (semi-gangster) group of about 20 members that brings together participants in underground fighting sports. He goes by the name “Isato Matsumoto.”
Takano, a resident of Oita Prefecture, is the leader of Prestige, an anonymous, mobile crime group (tokuryu) with around 6,000 members that gather to fight. He is known as “Iyami” — the rough pronunciation of the numbers 183.
The victim was a former member of Prestige. It is believed that the six suspects committed the crime after they had a dispute with him on social media, whereby he spoke negatively of Takano and revealed videos of the boys. He also argued with Kamihira on social media.
The incident came to light after the man fled from the Higashiosaka apartment to a convenience store toilet. From there, he called police.
“I was kidnapped and have just been released,” he said. “Now, I’m in the men’s toilet at the convenience store. I was taken to a man’s house, where I was beaten, stripped naked and made to kneel down.”
