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'Luffy' crime ring member arrested for ordering Japan robberies from PH

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Kyodo News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Toshiya Fujita (L) and Kiyoto Imamura (R), suspected members of the " which="" ran="" scams="" in="" Japan="" from="" the="" Philippines.="" Handout="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/news/02/07/20230207-2japanese.jpg"/><figcaption>Toshiya Fujita (L) and Kiyoto Imamura (R), suspected members of the &quot;Luffy&quot; group, which ran scams in Japan from the Philippines.<em> Handout/File</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>TOKYO — A suspected senior member of a group that ran scams in Japan from the Philippines, apparently under the pseudonym &quot;Luffy,&quot; was arrested on Thursday for allegedly ordering one of a slew of robberies reported across Japan.</p><p>Kiyoto Imamura, who was served a fresh arrest warrant, became the first to be charged with robbery among the group&#x27;s senior members who had given instructions for the crime.</p><p>The latest arrest warrant was for orchestrating the crime, which took place in Kyoto. He has already been indicted for theft over a scam.</p><p>Luffy was among the pseudonyms used by those who gave robbery orders.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/07/23/philippines-deports-2-robbery-suspects-to-japan">Japanese &#x27;Luffy&#x27; criminal ringleaders deported from Philippines</a></li></ul><p>The 39-year-old, who was deported in February from the Philippines, is suspected of being involved in the robbery of 41 watches totaling 69 million yen ($477,000) in value from a jewelry shop in Kyoto on May 2 last year.</p><p>Tokyo police have been investigating Imamura and three others -- Yuki Watanabe, Tomonobu Kojima and Toshiya Fujita, who were also deported from the Southeast Asian country under suspicion of having been involved in the scams -- over the robberies across Japan.</p><p>The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has not disclosed whether Imamura has admitted to the allegations.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/20/23/4-suspects-in-luffy-robberies-indicted-for-theft-over-fraud-cases">4 suspects in &#x27;Luffy&#x27; robberies indicted for theft over fraud cases</a></li></ul><p>But according to investigative sources, Imamura denied the allegations shortly after his arrest and has since remained silent.</p><p>Besides Imamura, 13 people, including those suspected of actually executing the crime, have been arrested over the robbery in Kyoto. Eleven of them have been indicted.</p><p>Imamura allegedly communicated with his fellow suspects through the encrypted messaging app &quot;Telegram,&quot; giving them instructions on renting a car to carry out the crime, scoping out the area, and purchasing hammers for breaking the store&#x27;s showcases.</p><p>According to the sources, Yuki Miyazawa, 22, was arrested on May 31 on suspicion of sending around 1 million yen to Imamura&#x27;s bank account, which included profits related to the Kyoto robbery.</p><p>The group is believed to be behind at least 50 criminal incidents, including robberies, spanning 14 prefectures since the summer of 2021 under the pseudonyms &quot;Luffy&quot; or &quot;Kim.&quot;</p><p>The Tokyo police said Wednesday that it has set up a joint investigative headquarters with prefectural police departments in Chiba, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Yamaguchi over the robberies.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/63y1SCfOBzk?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

The 39-year-old, who was deported in February from the Philippines, is suspected of being involved in the robbery of 41 watches totaling 69 million yen ($477,000).