HYOGO (TR) – Hyogo Prefectural Police on Wednesday arrested a member of a criminal syndicate and eight other suspects over the alleged murder of a man last year, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Mar. 25)
On the night of November 27, Takeya Hachiken, a 41-year-old member of the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi’s Yamaken-gumi, and accomplices are alleged to have fatally stabbed Chikara Yoshida, 47, of no known occupation, on a road in the Sonecho area of Takasago City.
Police did not reveal whether the suspects admit to the allegations.
After Yoshida went missing, police began interviewing persons connected to Hachiken. “His corpse was buried,” one person said.
On March 11, police found Yoshida’s body buried in a mountainous area of Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto Prefecture.
The results of an autopsy conducted on the body revealed that Yoshida died due to shock as a result of loss of blood, police said.
Burned-out vehicle
On November 30, police found Yoshida’s burned-out vehicle on a farming road in Furukawa City.
Since March 4, police first arrested 7 of the suspects on suspicion of arson in connection with the victim’s vehicle. Two other suspects, both youths, were accused only of murder on Wednesday, bringing the total in the case to 9.
During a search of Yoshida’s residence in Himeji City, police found documents showing that he was in debt to Hachiken.
