20-05-2025
Arrest warrants obtained for Vietnamese suspects in Japan shoplifting ring
NHK has learned that Japanese police have obtained arrest warrants for two Vietnamese nationals suspected of directing a shoplifting ring in Japan from their home country.
Sources close to the investigation say a joint task force, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, has secured warrants for Nguyen Ba Thanh and Nguyen Thu Huyen.
Investigators say the two issued instructions from Vietnam to group members who are suspected of stealing cosmetics and other products from drugstores in Nagano Prefecture in September.
This was reportedly discovered through the analysis of smartphones that were confiscated from the alleged shoplifters.
The group is also suspected of shoplifting large quantities of items from drugstores across Japan, collecting the items at multiple locations across the country and sending them back to Vietnam.
Investigators raided sites linked to the group near Tokyo and in Osaka in November. On Monday, they raided another site in Matsudo City, Chiba Prefecture, and arrested two other people suspected of involvement in the shipment of stolen goods.
Twelve members of the group have been arrested so far.
The investigators believe that the shoplifted items were delivered to locations in Hanoi connected to the two suspects who were allegedly issuing orders.
The joint task force plans to ask the International Criminal Police Organization, or INTERPOL, to place the two suspects on its wanted list.
The investigators believe the pair recruited shoplifters via social media and used messaging apps to instruct them on what to steal and where to send the products. They are continuing to pursue the full picture of this cross-border organized crime operation.
