Even the whole family will be severely punished if they are involved in the “Rufi Robber Gang”…! The shocking words of the unusual “notice” issued by the Yakuza organization.

More than a month has passed since the arrest of a group of men who are said to have ordered widespread robberies across the country, using code names such as “Luffy. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is currently conducting an investigation to uncover the full details of the case.

The four suspects, Masaki Watanabe (38), Mato Imamura (38), Tomonobu Kojima (45), and Seiya Fujita (38), are believed to be the ringleaders of the robberies that have been occurring across the country. Of these, the suspect who called himself “Luffy” is believed to be Imamura. The four were deported from the Philippines to Japan and arrested by February 9. The Metropolitan Police Department re-arrested Imamura and Fujita in February, and Watanabe and Kojima in March, each on suspicion of theft for special fraud, and is working to clarify the facts of the case. The four are believed to have been involved in robberies that occurred in various parts of the country, including Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, and Kyoto,” said a reporter from the society department of a national newspaper.

The series of robberies that straddled Tokyo and six prefectures shook the whole of Japan, but in fact, the impact of the robberies has reached the yakuza industry. A gang-related official said, “As a matter of fact, the yakuza industry has been affected by the series of robberies.

It is certain that the gangs in Hokkaido, where Watanabe and his gang are from, were suspected of being involved in the series of robberies. Within the industry, there is a rumor that Watanabe was helping them when he was running a special fraud operation. The name of a Tokyo-based crime syndicate that Watanabe helped when he was running a special scam was also mentioned in the industry. Although it is unclear whether any of these were actually associated with criminal groups, we have heard that the Yamaguchigumi upper management was also conducting its own investigation into the contacts and relationships between Watanabe and other members of the gangs. That is how much they could not ignore the case. Even in the yakuza world, the case was attracting a lot of attention.

FRIDAY Digital obtained a notice allegedly issued by an influential group that unites gangs in the Kanto region. The notice states that

If anyone is involved in or has contact with such incidents, he or she will be severely punished, not only the individual involved, but also the entire family and clan.

(original in Japanese).

Why did they go to the trouble of issuing this notice?

If a gang member is involved in the case, the top management may even be held liable for the employer’s liability. If a gang member is involved in the case, the top management could be held accountable for their actions. There is no doubt that all organizations are taking the situation very seriously. The notice is written in such a way that it can be identified as Rufi’s case, and clearly advises, ‘Do not get involved. At least for now, it means that it is a shinogi that you should never get involved in.

In fact, the “letter of notification” states

In fact, the “Notice” concludes with the following words: “We would like to ask that each family be given strict instructions on this matter by the person in charge of each district.

(original in Japanese), indicating a high level of caution.

A former subordinate of Watanabe’s tells us about the inner workings of the criminal group.

When I was working for the boss (Watanabe), there were yakuza in the group. However, I never heard that the boss was used by the yakuza. Rather, the bosses looked down on the yakuza, saying, ‘They can’t do anything,’ and used them for their convenience.”

A series of widespread robberies that even affected the yakuza’s shinogi. The investigation, including the involvement of gangsters, is awaiting further progress.