Senior Member of "Luffy" Crime Ring Gets 20 Yrs in Prison
Tokyo, July 23 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo District Court on Wednesday sentenced a senior member of a Philippines-based Japanese crime ring to 20 years in prison for his involvement in a nationwide robbery scheme.
Tomonobu Kojima, 47, was the first of the four indicted members of the group, whose members called themselves by nicknames such as "Luffy," to receive a court ruling.
Kojima was indicted on charges of recruiting individuals involved in robbery cases from October to December 2022, including those in the city of Inagi, Tokyo, the capital's Nakano Ward and the western city of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture. He also allegedly swindled a total of about 54 million yen in 2019.
During his trial, Kojima admitted to the charges, and public prosecutors sought a 23-year sentence.
The prosecutors argued that Kojima recruited perpetrators through X, formerly Twitter, and agencies for illegal part-time jobs, and concluded that he played a significant role in executing robberies.
(2025/07/23-17:14)
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