In connection with a series of wide-area robberies in Japan, the Japanese police authorities have issued arrest warrants for four suspects, including Yuki Watanabe and Masato Imamura, for their involvement in other special fraud cases. We are continuing to coordinate with the Philippine side to hand over the custody of Mr.
The four were members of a group based in the Philippines that made fraudulent phone calls to Japan, and are suspected of giving instructions under the name of "Luffy". It means going up the circle.
We have summarized the testimony about the actual situation of special fraud based in the Philippines and the past of the suspects.
A man who participated in a special fraud "training" based in the Philippines testified
Among the four suspects, a man who participated in a "training" to join a special fraud group based in the Philippines, where Watanabe is believed to be the mastermind, responded to the interview.
It is said that the man applied for a "dark part-time job" in 2019 because he himself was a victim and wanted to know the actual situation of fraud.
On the site of the dark part-time job, the contents such as "Work as a telephone operator. You can earn 1 million yen a month" were written, and the group asked me to exchange messages with an app that disappears after a while.
When I arrived in the Philippines, I was taken to an abandoned hotel in an urban area. More than 30 people, ranging from late teens to the elderly, were divided into groups of about eight people, making phone calls, and several other people. It means that there was a coordinator.
The man said, ``Some people had tattoos all over their bodies and faces. The youngest was 19 and had just graduated from high school. I wanted to raise a flag, and I want to make 1 million yen and go home.”
The man said that he was taught how to make fraudulent phone calls for three days from the day he arrived. I think the list of people to call changed two or three times a day.The names, addresses, and phone numbers were written, and it was said that there were many elderly people. The executives of the group treated us newcomers kindly, but they rebuked those who weren't able to improve their grades rather harshly, saying that they lacked skills."
Furthermore, "On Friday, we were closing the week and calling out the names of the 'best performers' and awarding them. Some people said they made 200,000 or 300,000 this week and seemed to be doing well. Because there are victims in this, the feeling of inconsolableness became stronger," he recalled.
He said that he was free to move around in the base and that it was not locked.
And the man testified that when he was taken to another hotel with a casino on Saturday, he met several other executives he hadn't seen at the base.
He said that he decided to create a new group of "Kakeko" including men and had a meeting, but revealed that there was a person called "Hao" there.
According to another person concerned, there is also information that Watanabe was called "Hao".
The man said, ``The executive was well-dressed and had a high-class ring. I feel like it's similar. I felt that Hao was the top from the appearance of another executive."
After that, he was told that he would start Kakeko's work from Monday, and he returned to Japan because he didn't want to take part in the crime.
Regarding the suspicion that Watanabe and others gave orders in a series of robberies by calling themselves 'Luffy' and 'Kim', the man said, ``If it is true, the special fraud will become known and the income will gradually increase. Maybe it's because it's gotten worse," he said.
Dating partner carries cash from Japan
In addition, new facts have been revealed about the suspect, Yuki Watanabe.
Four years ago, it was discovered that a 32-year-old girlfriend at the time was carrying cash from Japan to the suspect in the Philippines, which was believed to have been obtained through a special fraud.
According to the police and others, in November 2019, the partner was arrested for making a false phone call to an elderly person pretending to be a police officer and stealing a cash card.
After that, he was indicted for being involved in multiple special fraud cases and was sentenced to prison in October 2020.
According to the Osaka District Court's ruling, in March 2019, when he visited Manila, the Philippines, he met Watanabe, who claims to be a businessman, and started dating.
In April, he visited Manila again at the invitation of the suspect, and at that time, it is said that he gave the suspect 20 million yen in cash that he had taken out of Japan.
From around this time, the partner was recruiting special fraud recipients using the pseudonym "Tanaka" on SNS and the highly confidential communication application "Telegram".
Furthermore, from around the end of May, based on his relationship with the suspect and his track record as a recruiter, he began to take on the role of transporting and collecting cash.
He traveled to the Philippines seven times in 2019 alone, and according to police investigations, he is believed to have carried tens of millions of yen each.
Eight months after meeting the suspect, he was arrested by the Osaka Prefectural Police. Please send me DMs."
In the ruling, ``The group was also based in the Philippines. The defendant contributed to ensuring the collection of criminal proceeds and played an important role.'' rice field.
According to investigative sources, at that time, there were many cases of special fraud that were believed to be caused by this group, and the existence of Watanabe, who was in Manila at the time, had already surfaced in the investigation of his dating partner. am.
Imamura's junior high school classmate "was called a bad guy"
A junior high school classmate of Masato Imamura (38), who is suspected of giving instructions in a wide-area robbery case and has an arrest warrant from the Metropolitan Police Department for being involved in another special fraud case, responded to an NHK interview. rice field.
Imamura was born in 1984 and attended elementary and junior high schools in Sapporo. According to people involved, he later met Yuki Watanabe, who was also detained in the Philippines, in Susukino, the downtown area of Sapporo. I'm here.
A junior high school classmate of Imamura said about the situation at the time, "He was called a delinquent in junior high school. I heard that he was fighting with students from other schools." .
On the other hand, since he belonged to the soccer club, "I was working hard. I think he liked soccer. I think there were also female students,” he said.
After that, I heard that he was a barker in Susukino, and at the coming-of-age ceremony, he wore a suit and had the impression of being fat.
Looking at the photo of the current suspect Imamura, he said, "I thought he was fat and a completely different person. I want you to compensate for what you did wrong."
Elementary and junior high school juniors "gentle and cool, conspicuous presence"
A junior woman who attended the same elementary and junior high school in Sapporo as Masato Imamura (38) said about her impression at the time, "When I met him at school and said hello, he would talk to me and was kind to both juniors and women. I had the impression that he was cool and I looked up to him.At the time, I belonged to the soccer club, and I think he was an ace or something that stood out.”
She then added, "I don't really have a bad image because she's in a different grade, but I've heard stories about her bullying her classmates."
She also said that she didn't know what she would do after graduation, but she said, "When I was a high school student, I saw her on the street and was approached, but she was blond and looked like a delinquent, so I got scared and ran away. I was talking.
Regarding the incident, "I'm really shocked. I knew from the news that people from Sapporo were involved, but I didn't think it was someone I knew. I also had a kind impression, so why did this happen?" I think I will," he said.