A Tokyo court on Wednesday handed down a 20-year prison sentence to a key member of a crime ring that orchestrated robberies across Japan from the Philippines.
Tomonobu Kojima, 47, was on trial on suspicion of assisting in robberies causing injury and other crimes remotely directed by the group whose members used monikers such as “Luffy,” the name of a popular manga character, and recruited individuals to conduct the crimes on social media.
The trial at the Tokyo District Court had centered on what role Kojima played. In its first hearing in early July, he admitted to the charges but denied being a senior member of the group, instead describing himself as a “handyman.”
Prosecutors had sought a 23-year sentence, arguing the defendant had “clearly played an important role in realizing the robberies.” His defense counsel had sought 11 years in prison, arguing his involvement in the group’s crimes was limited.
Aside from Kojima, three other senior members of the group have been indicted for allegedly giving instructions to their subordinates in eight main robbery cases.
The crime ring was suspected of being involved in more than 50 cases of robbery, theft and other crimes across 14 prefectures.
All four men were deported from the Philippines in February 2023. They are suspected of issuing instructions for the eight robberies on the encrypted messaging app Telegram while being held at a Manila immigration facility before their deportation.
