A joint investigation unit of the Metropolitan Police Department and Tochigi Prefectural Police has arrested four people on suspicion of theft and trespassing after a company office was broken into and a safe stolen, among other allegations. The four are Ryoma Taniguchi, 32, of no fixed address and unemployed, and three Brazilian nationals, police said. The Metropolitan Police's Third Investigation Division has not disclosed whether the four admit or deny the allegations.
Police suspect the four entered a real estate company office in Taito Ward, Tokyo, through a window before dawn on July 4, 2025, with the intent to steal. They are also suspected of entering the office of a neighboring precious metals processing company through a window and taking about ¥8,500 in cash and a safe containing 5 kg of gold, together worth about ¥85.4 million at market value.
According to the Third Investigation Division, a person connected to the real estate company called 110 — Japan's emergency police number — on the morning of July 4, and the case came to light. One of the Brazilian men was arrested over involvement in a separate attempted theft, and analysis of a smartphone and other items seized in that case indicated the four were suspected of involvement in the Taito break-in.
The four are believed to be members of an anonymous and fluid crime group, known in Japanese as 匿名・流動型犯罪グループ (tokumei ryūdōgata hanzai group) and shortened to トクリュウ (tokuryū) — loosely organized crews that recruit through social media and dissolve quickly. Taniguchi is described as the person giving instructions, and the Third Investigation Division is investigating on the view that members above him in the group exist.