FUKUOKA (TR) – Police have arrested a member of the Yamaguchi-gumi syndicate and four others for allegedly kidnapping a woman and attempting to force her onto a flight to Southeast Asia to work as a telephone scammer, reports BS Oita Broadcasting (Oct. 13).
Ryuji Nakahara, a 54-year-old member of the Oita-based Ishii-ikka, an affiliate of the designated yakuza group Yamaguchi-gumi, was arrested alongside four men and women on suspicion of confinement and kidnapping for the purpose of transferring a person abroad.
According to Fukuoka Prefectural Police, the suspects confined the 34-year-old Kumamoto Prefecture woman at a restaurant in Fukuoka City’s Nakasu nightlife district in June. The victim reportedly owed money to Nakahara.
While holding her at the restaurant, the suspects threatened her, allegedly saying, “If you intend to repay the money, your only choice is to go overseas.” They then forced her into a taxi and took her to the international terminal of Fukuoka Airport, intending to traffic her to a location in Southeast Asia.
The plot was foiled before her departure when a police officer at the airport intervened and placed the woman under protective custody. Authorities subsequently identified and arrested the five suspects using security camera footage.
Investigators believe Nakahara operates as a “recruiter” for international tokushu sagi (specialized fraud) syndicates. The suspects allegedly planned to send the woman to an overseas crime base to work as a kakeko –— a caller tasked with defrauding victims over the phone.
On Tuesday, Fukuoka police raided the yakuza headquarters in Oita City to investigate the full extent of the syndicate’s operations and the details leading up to the kidnapping.