A man suspected to be a senior member of a group that ran scams in Japan from the Philippines was served a fresh arrest warrant Thursday for allegedly ordering one of a slew of robberies reported across Japan.
Police suspect that Kiyoto Imamura used the pseudonym "Luffy" in orchestrating the crime, which took place in Kyoto. Imamura has already been indicted for theft over a scam, and is the first to be charged with robbery among the group's senior members.
The 39-year-old, who was deported in February from the Philippines, is suspected of being involved in the robbery of 41 watches valued at a total of ¥69 million ($477,000) from a jewelry shop in Kyoto on May 2 last year.