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Following a joint investigation by the Ibaraki and Chiba Prefectural Police, four foreign residents of Ibaraki Prefecture have been arrested on charges of auto theft.
According to the investigators, the four men, who are Sri Lankan nationals, committed an extended string of robberies between December of 2022 and May of this year. Though several of the robberies took place in and around the Ibaraki cities of Tsuchiura and Inashiki, the police believe the group was behind thefts that occurred across a total of five prefectures: Ibaraki, Saitama, Chiba, Gunma, and Tochigi, with a total tally of 110 cars stolen, primarily vans such as the Toyota Hi Ace and mid-sized cargo trucks like the Isuzu Elf.
The investigation points to one of the four men, a 56-year-old resident of the Ibaraki town of Itako, as the ring leader. According to the accusations, the man, who runs a used vehicle and auto parts company, would identify targets to be stolen from private homes or the parking lots of hotels and businesses, which the other three members of the group would then steal under cover of darkness and bring back to the 56-year-old’s garage, where they would be stripped for parts and components such as their engines which he would then resell.
The 56-year-old is denying the charges, though it is currently unclear whether the other three members of the group are doing the same.
Source: Ibaraki Shimbun via Yahoo! Japan News, Sankei Shimbun
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- https://soranews24.com/2024/11/13/japanese-police-arrest-four-foreign-residents-on-charges-of-stealing-over-100-cars/
11 Comments
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JeffLee
110 cars! They've been busy over the past 2 years. Long jail sentences then deportation, please. Don't care if you've got a Japanese wife and kids to feed. Off you go and never come back.
dagon
They were just doing their bit to restructure the debt between the two countries.
https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/sri-lankas-economic-crisis-debt-deal-with-bilateral-creditors-2024-06-26/
3RENSHO
"...where they would be tripped [sic] for parts and components such as their engines which he would then resell."
Of course the stolen vehicles were stripped for parts, and not 'tripped'. Such a business is sometimes referred to as a 'chop shop.'
Moderator: Thanks for pointing out the typo.
sakurasuki
Those car can't speed up, however usually people who drive or own it usually construction worker or service worker that already tired after all day working on the site. So they'll become easy target.
Vietnamese suspects usually target agricultural product, now Sri Lankan is targeting cars.
Japan used to be peace country.
Fighto!
If found guilty, give the four pieces of trash 15 years- then deported never to return. Sell all of their assets, cars and homes. (Regardless of if they have Japanese wives and fsmilies).
Vermin.
R B Quinn
Good riddance … they have abused Japan’s hospitality for far too long.
Abe234
generally I agree with you but that only punishes the kids twice. One when their parent goes to jail and second you deprive them of a parent. And they’ll suffer the financial hit forever. Not to mention, make them latch key kids.
If single a jail sentence and then deportation. If they’ve got kids. Jail then follow them for 5 years after release, along with some community work after their release.
Generally I agree with you and I understand in todays climate, simple answers are in vogue.
im
more angry that these w@n7ers give US hard working immigrants a bad name and will stigmatize us.
CaptDingleheimer
When I was in my 20's, I used to have a drinking buddy in Sendai who was this Russian kid fresh out of college. To save up some money to get his start in life back home, he had a job boosting cars in the middle of the night around Miyagi and driving them down to the port and onto Russian ships. I can't say I thought his job was a very good life decision, but he was a nice kid and fun to party with.
Fighto!
I could have guessed he was a Russian without you even specifying his nationality. At one time there was a huge black market for stolen cars exported to Russia, with the vehicles heading to places like Vladivostok.
What a piece of work - here's hoping he has since met great misfortune.
Fighto!
I can't see any headline of the sort.
The fact they are black men is not the key part of the story. Foreign crime syndicates - which is what this was allegedly - get arrested, jailed and deported all over the world.
InspectorGadget
Thats one van/truck a week. They have been busy.