Suspect accused of trafficking teenager to scam ring in Myanmar
Tomu Fujinuma, second from left, is escorted by police officers on May 7 at Sendai Airport. (Kei Teshirogi)
Miyagi prefectural police arrested a suspected recruiter-trafficker for an international scam operation in Myanmar on May 7 over the disappearance of a 17-year-old high school student from the prefecture.
According to police, Tomu Fujinuma, 29, met the teenager at an airport in Thailand on Jan. 10 and lured him to Myanmar, where he was forced to work at an international scam center.
The teenager was initially contacted through an online game by Fujinuma or an associate who promised easy money for simple tasks in Thailand, police said.
Police have not disclosed whether the suspect has admitted to or denied the allegations.
Investigators believe the high school student was trapped at the crime hub in Myanmar near the Thailand border, where he was forced to make fraudulent calls to victims in Japan.
He was rescued by Thai authorities in mid-January and returned to Japan.
This is the first arrest made by Japanese authorities of a suspected recruiter connected to Myanmar-based international scam operations.
Fujinuma was initially apprehended by Thai authorities in February when he tried to enter the country from Myanmar.
After being deported to Japan, he was arrested by Osaka police in March on suspicion of unlawful confinement in a separate case that occurred last year. He was indicted in April.
OVER 7,000 'RESCUED'
Reports surfaced in January that thousands of people from Asia and other regions were being held hostage in the Myanmar area bordering Thailand, where international crime syndicates operate scam centers.
In the months following those reports, an ethnic minority militia in Myanmar that controls the border area reportedly intervened and 'rescued' more than 7,000 foreign workers.
The militia held onto the workers while they awaited relocation to Thailand.
To date, 10 Japanese nationals have been detained or taken into protective custody by Thai authorities before being repatriated.
They include five individuals arrested in Japan for their suspected involvement in scams and other criminal activities.
Fujinuma's arrest, along with the rescue of the 17-year-old student, highlights the success of the growing collaboration between Thai and Japanese authorities.
Earlier crackdowns on international scam operations in countries such as the Philippines and Cambodia have led to the repatriation of several Japanese suspects and victims.
(This article was written by Kei Teshirogi and Shimpachi Yoshida, a senior staff writer.)
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