Overview
- A joint task force led by the Metropolitan Police arrested four men on December 5 in the first detentions of suspected instruction figures tied to the 2024 string of robberies.
- The suspects — Hiroto Fukuchi, Takuya Saito, Karura Murakami and Shota Watanabe — were arrested on suspicion of robbery resulting in injury and unlawful entry linked to the October 17, 2024 home invasion in Ichikawa, where a woman in her 50s suffered serious fractures and cash and cards totaling about ¥48,000 were taken.
- Police say funds stolen in the Ichikawa case and in the fatal robbery in Yokohama’s Aoba Ward were passed to the four men, and they are examining the suspects’ possible involvement in the Yokohama killing.
- Authorities attribute 18 robberies across Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama between August and November 2024 with losses of about ¥23 million; 51 alleged executors and cash couriers have been arrested, several have been indicted, and one courier has been convicted in Yokohama District Court.
- Separately, Tochigi police are investigating a November home‑invasion in Oyama for links to the same anonymous, fluid networks after arrests in a case where a victim reported severe violence and a family dog was killed.