Three Yakuza-Linked Men Hijack Delivery Truck in Osaka
172 Items Worth 2.6 Billion KRW Seized
Two Arrested, Leader Arrested on 16th
Rolex watches seized during the 2021 Incheon Customs smuggling crackdown. Unrelated to the article content. [Photo by Incheon Customs]
A delivery van carrying 172 Rolex watches disappeared without a trace in Osaka, Japan. The incident occurred around 8:45 a.m. on May 21 on a road in Chuo Ward, Osaka. The delivery woman, in her 60s, received 172 Rolex watches (valued at 282 million yen, approximately 260 million KRW) from the delivery center and briefly parked the van on the road to make another delivery. She was away for about 3 minutes. When she returned, the van was gone. The delivery woman had left the car keys inside the vehicle and the doors unlocked.
Taking advantage of this, a gang with Yakuza ties stole the delivery van loaded with Rolex watches and fled.
The police, who responded to the report, identified a trio near the scene through security cameras. They arrested two suspects, but one escaped. The vehicle was found later that day in another area of Osaka, but the watches were already missing. Some had even been sold.
On the 16th, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported that "Osaka police arrested Toru Murata (53), whose address and occupation are unclear, on theft charges." After the police issued a public warrant, Murata called the police from a payphone in Niigata Prefecture, where he had been hiding, and surrendered.
Murata is known as the ringleader who directed the crime scene. Police believe there are other accomplices who planned and executed the crime and handled the disposal of the stolen goods, and investigations are ongoing.
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