Luffy robberies
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| Date | 2021–2022 |
|---|---|
| Location | Japan and the Philippines |
| Type | Robbery scheme |
| Theme | Transnational organized crime |
| Target | Residents in Japan |
| Perpetrator | "Luffy" |
The Luffy robberies were a series of robberies in Japan which took place in 2021 and 2022. They have been linked to the alias "Luffy", are suspected to have been organised by detainees based in the Philippines. In 2023, four Japanese nationals were deported back to Japan over their suspected involvement in the Luffy robberies.
Background[edit]
2019 Makati hotel arrests[edit]
The Luffy robberies were linked to the arrest of 36 Japanese nationals in a hotel in Makati, Phillippines over running a telecom fraud and extortion scheme.[1][2] According to the Japanese police, the group victimized 1,393 Japanese nationals with damages estimated to cost around ¥2 billion (₱1 billion).[1] The detained individuals were deported back to Japan between 2020 and 2021.[3]
Suspects[edit]
The Luffy robberies were led by an individual operating under the alias "Luffy", after Monkey D. Luffy, the protagonist of the Japanese manga series One Piece. Japanese and Philippine media reports named Yuki Watanabe as "Luffy", but this has not been confirmed by Phillippine police,[4] leaving it up for their Japanese counterparts to confirm the identity the individual behind "Luffy".[5]
Yuki Watanabe was detained at the Bureau of Immigration Bicutan Detention Center on April 19, 2021, where he has remained indefinitely, and has been a subject of a summary deportation order since May 28, 2021. However his deportation has been placed on hold due to a Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC) charge being filed against him. Another Japanese national, Imamura Kiyoto, has a similar VAWC case filed against him and also had his deportation deferred.[6] Tomonobu Saito and Fujita Toshiya are other suspects to the case.[7] All four are suspected to be senior members of the group behind the Makati hotel fraud and extortion scheme busted back in 2019.[1]
Activities[edit]
Criminal activity in Japan related to the Luffy robberies are believed to have first began in the summer of 2021,[4] with more than 50 cases in fourteen prefectures being linked to the group.[8] Watanabe, Kiyoto, Saito, Toshiya, the suspected ringleaders of the Luffy operation, remain in detention in the Philippines.[4]
They primarily recruited accomplices via social media. They offered "dark part-time jobs" in exchange for high financial compensation. They would relay instructions to gang members via the Telegram application. Accomplices would pose as police officers or Japan Financial Services Agency members and trick victims into believing that their accounts has been compromised. They would attempt to visit their victim's residences to steal their target's ATM cards to withdraw all the money in the victim's account.[4] Accomplices in Japan received instructions from individuals based in the Philippines under the names Luffy and Kim.[8]
2023 deportations[edit]
On January 30, 2023, the government of Japan requested that the four suspects be deported back to Japan. They first requested for the deportation in 2019, but the suspects remained in Philippines awaiting trial for separate criminal charges.[9][10]
Toshiya Fujita and Kiyoto Imamura were deported back to Japan on February 7, 2023, after their cases in the Philippines were dismissed.[7] Yuki Watanabe and Tomonobu Saito were deported the following day.[5]
The Department of Justice has coordinated with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and the Bureau of Immigration to look into the previously pending cases against the four Japanese nationals, but these charges are suspected to be contrived cases filed to prevent their deportation back to Japan.[5]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "36 Japanese nationals arrested in Makati for telecom fraud". CNN Philippines. November 15, 2019. Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
- ^ Tomacruz, Sofia (January 31, 2023). "What we know so far: 'Luffy' serial robberies and Japanese fugitives in PH". Rappler. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
- ^ "Leaders of 'Luffy' robberies in Japan suspected of being behind Manila fraud ring". The Japan Times. Kyodo. January 28, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
- ^ a b c d Guinto, Joel (February 9, 2023). "'Luffy': Japan arrests 'crime bosses' who lived in Philippine jail". BBC News. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
- ^ a b c Casilao, Joahna Lei (February 9, 2023). "Two other Japanese fugitives in 'Luffy' case deported". GMA News. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
- ^ Torres-Tupas, Tetch (January 30, 2023). "Who is 'Luffy' behind string of robberies? PH gov't still awaits Japanese confirmation". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
- ^ a b Torres-Tupas, Tetch (February 8, 2023). "2 more Japanese fugitives linked to 'Luffy' robberies deported". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
- ^ a b "Police: 50 thefts, robberies since 2021 tied to 'Luffy' group". The Asahi Shimbun. February 9, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
- ^ Del Callar, Michaela (February 7, 2023). "Japan lauds PH response to deport suspects in 'Luffy' heists". GMA News. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
- ^ Obu, Toshiya (January 28, 2023). "'Luffy' criminal mastermind to be deported from the Philippines". The Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved February 10, 2023.