False Arrest Warrants and Escape Plans in Ralphie’s Case
In a case involving a widespread robbery incident where the suspect identified as “Ralphie,” Risa Yamada (27), who was indicted for an attempted robbery incident in Adachi Ward, Tokyo, in January 2023, had her initial trial on February 21 at the Tokyo District Court, with Judge Ichihiro Sakata presiding.
Yamada, who was deported from the Philippines as a member of a fraudulent group, was charged with theft for stealing cash cards from two individuals in their 60s and 70s in Tokyo in November 2019, withdrawing approximately ¥4.14 million in cash. In August ‘203, she received a three-year prison sentence for this crime.
Regarding the attempted robbery incident in Adachi Ward, Yamada admitted to the charges, stating, “There is no mistake,” and revealed details about the vivid interactions among the leaders at the immigration facility and their escape plans.
In the case of the widespread robbery, suspects Yuki Watanabe (39), Seiya Fujita (39), and Mato Imamura (39), who are leaders of the fraudulent group, have been arrested. Yamada had been living with Watanabe and others at the immigration facility where she was detained.
“Defendant Yamada acted as a decoy under defendants Watanabe and Fujita. The group was exposed by Filipino authorities in ’19, but Yamada managed to evade arrest and went into hiding. However, she eventually decided to return to Japan and surrendered herself to the Japanese Embassy.
She was then detained at the Bicutan Detention Center near Manila, where she reunited with defendants Watanabe and others. While in detention, Watanabe and others instructed Yamada to carry out robberies, and she made appointment calls to the homes of elderly individuals to gather information about their assets,” a national newspaper social affairs reporter who attended the trial stated.
Yamada described the Bicutan camp,
“Murderers were freely carrying knives. I witnessed murders committed by Korean inmates and riots instigated by Chinese inmates, and I felt like I was in a very dangerous place.”
“Although food was provided, frequent incidents of theft and food poisoning made it impossible for me to eat.”
Yamada, who was detained at the Bicutan Detention Center where foreign nationals ordered to leave the country are held, explained that there were factions based on nationality, which intensified feelings of loneliness. In order to survive in such dire conditions, Yamada had no choice but to join the Japanese faction. It was there that she was introduced to defendant Imamura, who was presented as the boss of the Japanese faction.
“Yamada was directed to Imamura’s room, which was called the ‘VIP room,’ where Imamura was known to bribe the facility director and even had access to his office. It’s hell if you don’t have money, but the treatment changes drastically if you do; Yamada received cup noodles, water, cigarettes, and other items from Imamura. There, she also reunited with defendants Watanabe and Fujita. In order to survive in the detention center, they had no choice but to obey their orders and, under threat from Fujita, Yamada was coerced into making appointment calls.”
Yamada also testified that Watanabe and the others were also indicted in a robbery-homicide case that occurred in Komae City the day before the Adachi-ku incident, and that the three were quarreling about what was going on at the time.
“Watanabe asked Imamura, ‘What should we do about this?’ upon learning of the incident through online news. Imamura responded, ‘I didn’t intend to kill him,’ and began to panic. He contacted the Japanese side to ‘retrieve the body.’ However, Watanabe said, ‘It’s already in the news, so it’s no good,’ which made Imamura quite anxious.”
There was also an escape plan in progress at Bicutan Camp,
“Watanabe said, ‘To execute the escape plan, we need to earn a lot of money.'”
“If we go to a rural prison, we can go out, and if we pay money to the accompanying guards, we can escape.”
Yamada testified about their escape plan, stating that Imamura and others bribed officials and had fake arrest warrants made to be transferred to rural prisons.
“Yamada seemed to speak about more things than asked, speaking quickly. The presiding judge repeatedly cautioned him to ‘answer each question slowly.'”
“He also mentioned that there are still high-ranking members who haven’t been caught yet and talked about JP Dragon, a Japanese fraud group known to have deep connections with Luffy and others.” (Previously mentioned judicial affairs reporter)
Yamada stated that he would fully cooperate with the upcoming trial of the executives if called upon to do so. It is likely that this will have a major impact on the clarification of the reality of the special fraud group.
In the second part, “‘I want to become a designer or a novelist,’ a close associate of the Rufi case vividly reveals her harsh life and future dreams at the trial,” defendant Risa Yamada reveals her past and dreams as she spoke at the trial.
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PHOTO： Shinji Hasuo
