A group of three suspects robbed five people on a street in central Tokyo late on Jan 29, escaping with suitcases that reportedly contained about 420 million yen (S$3.4 million) in cash, according to Japanese police.
The robbery took place at around 9.30pm in Taito ward, near JR Okachimachi station, a busy commercial area east of central Tokyo. The victims — three Japanese nationals and two Chinese nationals aged between their 20s and 40s — were loading three suitcases filled with cash into a passenger car when they were confronted by the suspects.
Police said one of the Chinese victims, a man in his 40s, was attacked with pepper spray during the robbery. The suspects then seized the suitcases and fled the scene by car. The victims were not seriously injured, though they were left shaken by the incident.
Around the same time as the suspects were making their escape, a pedestrian in his 50s was struck by a vehicle in the vicinity. The man suffered minor injuries, police said, and investigators are examining whether the incident was connected to the suspects’ getaway.
A few hours later, in the early hours of Jan 30, another violent incident involving a large sum of cash was reported at a carpark at Tokyo’s Haneda airport. Police said a man carrying luggage containing approximately 190 million yen was attacked with pepper spray by an unknown assailant. However, no money was stolen in that case, and the attacker fled.
Investigators are now looking into a possible link between the two incidents, including whether the same group was involved and whether the suspects were tracking people transporting large amounts of cash.
A small blue passenger car believed to have been used in the Okachimachi robbery was later found abandoned nearby. Police are analysing surveillance camera footage from the area and questioning witnesses in an effort to identify and locate the suspects.
Residents in the neighbourhood expressed alarm over the incident. “The area around Okachimachi is lined with jewellery shops and has seen robberies before,” said a woman in her 50s who lives nearby. “But this incident on Jan 29 really scared me.”
