‘Luffy’ crime group ringleader admits to aiding Japan robberies via Philippine racket
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Tomonobu Kojima (right) is accused of assisting robberies resulting in injury and other crimes directed remotely by the group known as “Luffy”.
PHOTO: AFP
TOKYO – A senior member of a crime ring admitted on July 1 to helping it orchestrate robberies in Japan from the Philippines, as the first hearing of a trial of the group’s leaders was held at a Tokyo court.
Tomonobu Kojima, 47, is accused of assisting robberies resulting in injury and other crimes directed remotely by the group known as “Luffy”, a name taken from a popular manga character, and carried out by individuals enlisted through social media.
At the Tokyo District Court, prosecutors said he was in charge of finding people to carry out the robberies by soliciting for lucrative “yami baito” or “shady part-time jobs”.
He is also accused of handling the group’s finances, prosecutors said in an opening statement.
Kojima is among four senior members who have been indicted for allegedly giving instructions to their subordinates in eight main robbery cases.
The crime ring is suspected of being involved in a total of over 50 cases of robbery, theft and other crimes across 14 prefectures.
According to the indictment, Kojima introduced members recruited to committing robberies to another senior group member, Toshiya Fujita, 41, in incidents conducted from October to December 2022, in such places as Inagi in western Tokyo and Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
The defendant is also accused of conspiring with another leader, Kiyoto Imamura, 41, who is believed to have used the pseudonym “Luffy”, to pose as a Financial Services Agency official in 2019 to steal cash cards and withdraw money, the indictment said.
After the indictment was read out by a prosecutor, Kojima said it was “correct”.
Imamura, Fujita, and 41-year-old Yuki Watanabe have also been indicted for a January 2023 robbery in Tokyo suburban city Komae that resulted in the death of a 90-year-old woman.
All four men were deported from the Philippines in February 2023. They are suspected of issuing instructions for the crimes on encrypted messaging app Telegram while being held at a Manila immigration facility. KYODO NEWS
