Overview

• The Metropolitan Police Department’s Special Investigation Division arrested Mitsume Hideaki, 46, in Nishitokyo on Oct. 7 on suspicion of fraud.
• Authorities say the group impersonated a telecom customer-service employee and a Yamanashi prefectural police officer to secure transfers totaling ¥20.5 million from a woman in Iruma.
• Investigators believe Mitsume served as a kakeko, or caller, working with accomplices from a base in Cambodia between late March and mid-April.
• The suspect has reportedly remained silent after arrest, and he earlier sought help from the Japanese embassy in May after fleeing a scam site.
• The division, launched on Oct. 1 to pursue loosely networked crime groups, is using the case to map the fraud ring and identify core organizers.