Latest news with #JPDragon
Japan Times
29-07-2025
- Japan Times
Senior 'JP Dragon' crime ring member jailed for 42 months
The Tokyo District Court on Tuesday sentenced a senior member of the "JP Dragon" crime ring based in the Philippines to three years and six months in prison for fraud. Tomohiro Koyama, 51, is believed to be the third-highest-ranking member of the ring comprising Japanese nationals. He is a former member of another crime group led by Yuki Watanabe, 41, whose members used the pseudonym "Luffy." Watanabe has been charged with robbery resulting in death. Koyama was detained by Philippine authorities and extradited to Japan in November 2024. Presiding Judge Yasushi Fuke said that Koyama's actions were "part of an organized and professional crime and very malicious." "He played an important role so that the whole organization could carry out crimes efficiently," the judge said, noting that Koyama managed ring members as a leader of a team tasked with making scam phone calls to victims. "It must be said that the criminal responsibility is heavy." Fuke deemed a prison sentence of three years and six months appropriate, citing Koyama's remorse and full compensation to the victim. Prosecutors had sought a five-year prison term. According to the indictment, Koyama conspired with Watanabe and others in April 2019 to steal eight bank cards from a fraud victim in her 50s in Tokyo and withdraw approximately ¥700,000.
29-07-2025
Senior JP Dragon Crime Ring Member Jailed for 42 Months
News from Japan Jul 29, 2025 17:17 (JST) Tokyo, July 29 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo District Court on Tuesday sentenced a senior member of the "JP Dragon" crime ring based in the Philippines to three years and six months in prison for fraud. Tomohiro Koyama, 51, is believed to be the third-highest-ranking member of the ring comprising Japanese nationals. He is a former member of another crime group led by Yuki Watanabe, 41, whose members used the pseudonym Luffy. Watanabe has been charged with robbery resulting in death. Koyama was detained by Philippine authorities and extradited to Japan in November 2024. Presiding Judge Yasushi Fuke said that Koyama's actions were "part of an organized and professional crime and very malicious." "He played an important role so that the whole organization could carry out crimes efficiently," the judge said, noting that Koyama managed ring members as a leader of a team tasked with making scam phone calls to victims. "It must be said that the criminal responsibility is heavy." [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Tokyo Reported
08-06-2025
- Tokyo Reported
JP Dragon head nabbed outside Manila
PHILIPPINES (TR) – Authorities last week apprehended the head of Japanese crime group JP Dragon outside the capital Manila during a raid of the suspect's birthday party, reports TBS News (June 6). In security camera footage taken on June 4, local investigators raid a restaurant at a resort in the province Pampanga where the birthday party for Ryuji Yoshioka, 55, is being held. As investigators surround the table of Yoshioka, he remains seated. He then hugs his family as investigators place him under arrest. JP Dragon is believed to have been involved in a type of fraud classified as tokushu sagi ('special fraud'), which is carried out on the telephone. The group is also connected to the so-called 'Luffy' fraud ring, which was behind a number of high-profile robberies in Japan. Japanese police have already obtained an arrest warrant for Yoshioka. They plan to request his extradition from the Philippines. Authorities apprehended Ryuji Yoshioka, the head of JP Dragon, at a restaurant in the province Pampanga on June 4 (X) JP Dragon JP Dragon is a criminal organization of Japanese gangster-affiliated fraud and theft groups operating in the Philippines. The group became famous for its involvement in the robberies carried out by the Luffy group. In 2019, JP Dragon also helped Luffy escape when their specialized fraud base was discovered by the Philippine authorities. The group was formed in the Philippines more than 10 years ago by a former Yamaguchi-gumi gangster. It is mainly active around the capital Manila. Most of the members are former yakuza members or quasi-members. It operates like a full-fledged criminal syndicate. As such, JP Dragon members are forced to have JP Dragon tattoos on their hands. Members engage in activities that include gambling on cockfights and collecting protection money from local Japanese people. They also commit special fraud crimes in Japan from bases in the Philippines.
The Star
08-06-2025
- The Star
Philippine Bureau of Investigation nabs yakuza boss in Angeles
MANILA: The Bureau of Immigration (BI) confirmed on Friday (June 5) the arrest and detention of a yakuza boss who has been operating a transnational crime ring out of the Philippines since 2022. Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado described as a 'significant victory' the arrest of Japanese national Ryuji Yoshioka, 54, the leader of the so-called JP Dragon crime ring. BI records showed that Yoshioka has not left the Philippines since 2022 when he arrived after a warrant for his arrest was issued by a court in Fukuoka, Japan. He arrived two years after one of his top aides, Tomohiro Koyama, who was subsequently deported last November along with two other JP Dragon members who were suspected of making calls from the Philippines to defraud people in Japan. The JP Dragon gang is believed to be behind large-scale theft and telecom fraud schemes with operational bases in South-East Asia. Viado said BI's Fugitive Search Unit (FSU) arrested Yoshioka in Angeles City, Pampanga, on June 4 with the help of the Philippine Navy and the Northern Luzon Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. 'This individual is a key player in an international crime group. His arrest sends a clear message that the Philippines is not a safe refuge for fugitives,' Viado emphasised. 'Yoshioka's arrest is a testament to our commitment to uphold justice and protect the Philippines from becoming a haven for international fugitives,' Viado said. Viado commended the FSU, led by its chief Rendel Ryan Sy, for the successful operation that followed continuing surveillance that has resulted in the arrest of at lest 10 JP Dragon gangsters. Yoshioka's aide Koyama was actually arrested in January 2024, but fraud charges were filed against him by his Filipino girlfriend apparently so he could dodge summary deportation. Viado did not specify the charges against Yoshioka, apparently to avoid a delay in his deportation because of charges pending in Philippine courts. Last November, Koyama was deported with fellow JP Dragon members Hiroki Nagaura, 26, and Eisei Miura, 41. According to the English-language Japan Times, Koyama and his two companions were linked to the so-called Luffy group, a separate yakuza ring believed to be behind a series of burglaries in Japan. According to the Nippon Hoso Kyoka television network, the Luffy group is led by Kiyoto Imamura, 41, who is also believed to be in the Philippines. Last month, lawmen arrested seven JP Dragon gangsters in simultaneous operations in Metro Manila and Bulacan. The BI did not identify all the seven arrested gangsters, except for Hikari Ishikawa, 45, and Masato Morihiro, 37. Ishikawa was arrested with four others in a residential subdivision in Bulacan while Morihiro was nabbed with another JP Dragon member in a condominium in Metro Manila. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
Japan Today
06-06-2025
- Japan Today
Japan crime group leader in Philippines arrested over theft
The leader of a Japanese crime syndicate who is based in the Philippines and wanted in Japan for theft has been arrested, immigration authorities said. The "JP Dragon" gangster syndicate, led by Ryuji Yoshioka, 55, and operating from bases in Asia, is believed to have been involved in a string of fraud cases and thefts in Japan. Its members are alleged to have impersonated Japanese authorities in tricking victims, including elderly people, into handing over money. The arrest of Yoshioka on Wednesday evening in Angeles, a city north of Manila, signals the end of operations for one of the group's bases in Southeast Asia, according to Joel Anthony Viado, chief of the Bureau of Immigration. The group is also suspected by authorities of being linked to another crime ring that has organized a series of burglaries across Japan since 2021. A Philippine immigration officer said Yoshioka can speak Tagalog, having been in the Philippines for over a decade, and operates businesses such as online gambling, cockfighting and karaoke bars. He is also wanted by local authorities on suspicion of swindling. © KYODO
