A 37-year-old man suspected of being the ringleader of a burglary group linked to "dark" part-time jobs and two other men were arrested for breaking into the home of an Osaka company executive, the Osaka Prefectural Police said Thursday.
Osaka police arrested Yuji Imai along with Hiroshi Shima, 21, who had already been arrested and indicted over two other similar cases. Police did not reveal whether the suspects have admitted to the charges.
Imai is suspected of ordering Shima to break into the apartment complex of a cosmetics company executive in his 60s in Osaka’s Yodogawa Ward on April 11 and 12 via the encrypted messaging app Signal.
Investigators believe Imai may be connected to a separate attempted burglary in Osaka Prefecture and a burglary in Yamaguchi Prefecture that left the victim injured. They also suspect Imai had sent out orders to recruit more grunt workers to carry out the dark-part time jobs.
On April 9, two individuals broke into the Osaka executive’s home, stole 14 items, including gold bars and wristwatches worth a combined ¥12.89 million, along with ¥1.5 million in cash. Police are currently tracking the whereabouts of the stolen items and investigating the full extent of Imai’s involvement in the incident.
Shima has been arrested and indicted for his role in the attempted burglary in Kudamatsu, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and an attempted burglary in Osaka’s Suita City.
In the Kudamatsu case, Shima allegedly conspired with others to break into a metal recycling company’s office, assault an employee with a bar and steal ¥5.5 million in cash. Police suspect Imai to be the mastermind behind the crime and are working to clarify the full scope of his involvement.
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