Japanese media reported that three Japanese and two Chinese nationals were robbed on a street in Tokyo, with a suitcase containing 420 million yen (10,779,100 ringgit) in cash taken by a three-person gang.
According to Kyodo News, around 9:30 p.m. on the 29th, five men and women were robbed of a suitcase containing cash on a street in Higashi-Ueno, Taito Ward, Tokyo. According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, the suitcase contained a total of 420 million yen.
The five people, aged from their 20s to 40s, said that as they were loading three suitcases containing cash into a car, a Chinese man in his 40s was sprayed with a liquid suspected to be pepper spray, and all three suitcases were taken. At around the same time on a nearby street, a car hit a pedestrian in his 50s and then fled the scene. Police believe it was the same three-person gang who committed the robbery and then caused the hit-and-run.
It is reported that one of the three suspects is about 170 cm tall, wearing a black jacket and trousers, and a black knit cap.
In addition, about three hours later, around 12:10 a.m. on the 30th, in the parking lot of Terminal 3 at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, a Japanese man in his 50s called the police, saying he was sprayed with pepper spray by a three-person gang. He was carrying a suitcase with 190 million yen (4,876,200 ringgit) but his money was not stolen.
The Tokyo police believe the two incidents are related and the three-person gang has escaped. The police will launch an investigation on suspicion of robbery and other charges.
Police revealed that the victims in both cases said they originally planned to take the cash from Haneda Airport to Hong Kong.