The National Police Agency said Thursday that 42 gang members affiliated with the Yamaguchi crime syndicate were arrested earlier this week on charges of stealing car navigation systems. The arrests were the result of a joint police inquiry that involved investigators from 11 prefectures.
Police said the gang sold the car navigation systems and other stolen items to second-hand shops and dealer, often online, netting around 350 million yen. An NPA spokesman told a news conference that the group operated in 17 different prefectures.
© Japan Today
29 Comments
Login to comment
paulinusa
And these are the lowlifes some recently defended in another news item. Keeping "crime" down but at the same time stealing from you. Yea, they're really doing a service for Japanese society!
Pukey2
For what? Handing out onigiris to the needy?
Lunchbox
Low life scum. A friend of mine had his van broken into, in his own apartment car park. They knew it was pro's because the only thing taken was the car navi (which has TV, DVD and stereo). Sunglasses, surfboards and CDs weren't touched. The worst part though, to get rid of fingerprints, the thieves sprayed the inside of the van with a fire extinguisher. The powder covers everything, and gets inside every crack and gap in the car, it pretty much ruined the van, they'e never been able to get rid of the smell.
Asagao
It is a sign of the decreasing Japanese economy that the gangs have to stoop to such low crimes. They should be ashamed of themselves and think more about why samari have so much respect in Japanese society. Although samara were just killers, they had a moral code. I suggest the gangs go back to school and study about Bishkek.
Foxie
350 million Yen worth? So, if we suppose that the average new cost is about 50,000 Yen,and that they sold them for half price, that would mean that they had stolen 14,000. It always amazed me that Japan in the past never had a problem with stolen car stereos like in Europe. They must have skipped that part and moved right onto more lucrative things.
jforce
Actually, Inaka is really being targeted. These gangs are looking to a lot of communities where the population is old and can't react fast. They scope out the area and strike after dark. With the economy slipping it's a wonder these crimes haven't spread to home invasions.
herefornow
paulinusa -- you beat me to it. These are the same folks people were saying bring "stability" to Japan, and that we should refer to as "Yakuza-san". At least the U.S. sees them for what they are.
Utrack
350 million yen? that's a veritable crime spree. What are they going into the food import business?
gogogo
350 million yen, that is a seriously long time... the police need to get their s**t in gear that is very slow.
ExportExpert
You will find those doing this will be low level yakusa, the higher ups wouldnt bother breaking into parked cars but it would not be below them to have the foot soldiers do it. It is a deplorable crime though as the average joe worked hard to get a decent car with a decent navi only to have it ripped out by some dirt bag.
But this type of crime wouldnt exist if decent people didnt buy stolen goods of yahoo etc.
Hopefully most of these victims had insurance.
paulinusa
"Theft from average people is not very chivalrous, after all."
Traditionally their # 1 target has been small mom and pop stores which they extort money from. Why do people have romantic notions about these criminals?ExportExpert
The crime groups dont care where the money comes or who it comes, from money is money it can all be spent the same, these guys have no morale compass at all so why would they care about average joe and his navi, all they see is money.
chewitup
Public service announcement: If you would like your Navi to not be stolen, please display it prominently on your dashboard to help keep the community aware of its presence.
LOL and thank you!
electric2004
I expect that some "customers" might be not so happy, as these navigation systems were mostly designed not for digital TV broadcast. So the TV function in most cases (unless an upgrade is possible) became useless. Now, if one wants to upgrade, the registration information becomes handy, and this is the point where the buyers of stolen goods might trip.
Tahoochi
Bottom feeders of the yakuza.
papigiulio
42 of what 18000? well 17958 to go Jcops
my2sense
These things get jacked in my hood too weekly. Had to stop jogging at night due to cops thinking I had them in my hand... was actually the Japanese seeing my ipod lit up at night and I guess when you go around the outside of a school with a parking lot makes you a prime suspect...even if you are a big white dude. "Sumimasen, there is a gaijin running near my home and I think he has a gps navi taped to his butt...HELP!"
gogogo
Where are all the "yakuza are nicest people I know" posters now?
Ashley Baker
Maybe Police need a law like the RICO in the USA to tackle such large groups.
chewitup
Let us not forget to congratulate the police on these arrests. If people can't be bothered to do that then they deserve the corruption and police crime they always complain about. So good job cops! It takes guts to take on the gumis!
CrazyJoe
Not even one yakuza member was arrested for stealing the car navigation systems. The stealing was done by low life criminals. One member of the Yamaguchi gumi yakuza was arrested for buying the stolen navigation systems and reselling them for profit.
Elbuda Mexicano
Yakuza are scum!
Heythia
Do you even know what RICO stands for and how it's even used? Trust me, it's not easy especially when half the people don't snitch
Brad Moreiko
@heythia It's a law that targets organization crime groups and the chain of command that exist within them.
ubikwit
@asago
you know nothing about the samurai, obviously, and moreover, yakuza cretins have simply attempted to misappropriate the samurai as a cultural symbol to exploit, portraying themselves as protectors of the weak.
what i'd like to know is what is your motivation for suggesting such an association?
gogogo
CrazyJoe: Yep the "criminals" are most likely people that owe money to the Yakuza or are being blackmailed into doing it to work off something.
Lenin
Guess I had better hold off on "nabi".
Raymasaki
the yamaguchi strike again. the Japanese police should shut them down. But they have done worse things than steal car gps.