Osaka police on Tuesday arrested a 29-year-old Japanese man who had been detained in Thailand for allegedly tricking a Japanese high school student into committing fraud from Myanmar.
The suspect, Tomu Fujinuma, was arrested by the Osaka Prefectural Police after being transported to Kansai International Airport from Bangkok. Fujinuma was arrested on initial charges of abducting an acquaintance in his 20s from a street in Osaka and assaulting and confining him in August last year.
The suspect allegedly stole ¥2.6 million in cash and a watch from the acquaintance and fled Japan after the incident, police said.
Japanese police are also investigating Fujinuma for allegedly tricking the high school student and kidnapping him to Myanmar.
According to Thai police and other sources, Fujinuma was held at an airport in Bangkok on Feb. 13 this year for his alleged involvement in managing a fraud scheme in Myanmar.
Fujinuma is believed to have been involved in a fraud group targeting Japanese nationals that was operating from a Chinese-affiliated crime group's base near Myawaddy, eastern Myanmar. He allegedly forced the high school student from Miyagi Prefecture, whom he met in an online gaming community, to commit fraud.
Fujinuma may have also been involved in a Japanese scam group operating from Cambodia, Thai police and other sources said.
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