Police raid Vietnamese theft ring's collection points

Police raided four suspected collection points for shoplifted goods tied to a Vietnamese theft ring operating across 10 prefectures Wednesday.

The raids — conducted by a joint investigative team made up of Tokyo metropolitan police and Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa and Gifu prefectural police — conducted simultaneous searches of four detached properties and vacant stores in Saitama and Chiba prefectures on suspicion of violating laws against organized crime.

The ring is believed to have sent stolen items — primarily shoplifted from drugstores — to Vietnam for resale. Authorities suspect the group’s alleged leaders, a man and a woman based in Vietnam, orchestrated operations remotely using the messaging app Zalo to recruit Vietnamese nationals in Japan for theft.

Police are preparing international arrest warrants for the two suspects and are investigating the organization’s operations.

The theft ring is believed to involve more than 30 members. Four individuals who are suspected of carrying out the thefts have been arrested. Investigators have linked the group to crimes in at least 10 prefectures, primarily in the Kanto region, dating back to last year.

According to police, the ringleaders directed members to steal high-value items from drugstores. Stolen goods were delivered to more than 10 locations across Japan before being shipped to Vietnam.

"I applied through Zalo after hearing they would buy items shoplifted from drugstores,” said one suspect when describing their involvement. The individual confessed to visiting around 10 stores daily by car, repeatedly shoplifting items such as cosmetics, supplements and razors before proceeding to have the goods delivered to a collection point.

Members send photos of stolen items along with screenshots of delivery invoices to the ringleaders, who then transfer them payment. One member admitted to shipping stolen items worth approximately ¥15 million ($98,000) and being paid ¥3 million.