Crime Journalist Taihei Ogawa on the Reality of Tokuryū Crime Groups in Thailand and Cambodia
Defendant Mahito Imamura, who used the name “Luffy” to issue instructions for a series of widespread robbery casesGang Leaders Living in Luxury High-Rise Condominiums in Thailand
“Although their bases of operations are overseas, most victims of special fraud schemes are believed to be in Japan. By a simple calculation, the losses are estimated at more than ¥1 billion a day, or over ¥400 billion a year. While elderly people used to be the primary targets, younger generations are now being targeted as well. The scale of the damage continues to grow.”
Crime journalist Taihei Ogawa, 64, who warns of the growing threat, visited Thailand and Cambodia in June this year to investigate overseas bases of tokuryū—anonymous, mobile criminal groups. (All quotations below are Ogawa’s.)
Tokuryū groups are involved in a range of crimes, including bank transfer scams and robberies. In late September, two members of a fraud group operating out of Cambodia were arrested.
“They are suspected of attempting to make a 35-year-old woman living in Miyazaki at the time transfer a large sum of money in January this year. They allegedly called her from Cambodia while impersonating police officers and falsely told her, ‘You are suspected of money laundering.’ One of the two arrested men is believed to have served as the leader of the group’s phone scammers, supervising around 10 members within a fraud operation based in Cambodia,” says a reporter from the social affairs department of a major national newspaper.
Over the past several months, local police have successively raided fraud group bases in Thailand and Malaysia. Cooperation with Japanese police has significantly increased arrest rates. Nevertheless, Ogawa says these criminal groups continue to expand.
“The bases of these fraud groups are spreading from Thailand to Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and elsewhere. However, Thailand seems to be the best fit for Japanese people in terms of its economy and everyday living conditions, including food, clothing, and housing. The bosses are said to be relocating there. The upper echelons of these criminal organizations generally live in luxury high-rise condominiums in Thailand. They are living better lives than they did in Japan.”
During his investigation, Ogawa also obtained the following information.
“I obtained a photograph of people said to include a mastermind behind special fraud schemes, a former senior organized crime syndicate boss, and someone regarded as a leading figure in the sex industry, sitting around a round table and talking. The photograph was taken in an ultra-luxurious area dotted with villas that cost ¥600,000 per night or ¥18 million per month to rent. What on earth were they gathering there to discuss? I’m continuing to investigate, but meetings like these are taking place overseas day and night.”
Phone Scammers Make 400 Calls a Day
During his visit to Cambodia, Ogawa investigated Poipet, a city bordering Thailand. The city is reportedly home to as many as 200 bases operated by fraud groups.
“The person who controls this city is a Cambodian government minister. Private security guards personally hired by the minister are responsible for security. They carry weapons, so it’s not easy for just anyone to get close.”
Through a Japanese acquaintance he met locally, Ogawa chartered a car and attempted to investigate the fraud bases alongside a local driver, an interpreter, and a coordinator.
At one location, an entire 10-story building was reportedly being used as a hideout by a fraud group. Authorities had already raided the premises, leaving the building completely deserted, but armed security guards were still stationed at the entrance.
When Ogawa entered another base, he found individual booths separated much like those in a corporate call center, with instruction manuals posted on the walls.
“Apparently, the phone scammers stationed at these bases make an average of as many as 400 calls a day.”
What kind of lives do these phone scammers lead overseas, and what fate awaits them?
Ogawa is currently undergoing chemotherapy for colorectal cancer following surgery in August, so he is unable to travel overseas for an investigation at the moment. Nevertheless, he says, “I’d like to go back in about six months.” His on-the-ground investigation into tokuryū criminal groups will continue.
[YouTube] On FRIDAY TV, crime journalist Taihei Ogawa also discusses in detail the realities of life for phone scammers operating in Cambodia and how the local tokuryū networks function.
PHOTO： Shinji Hasuo