Saitama Prefectural Police have issued arrest warrants for four men in connection with the disappearance of a high school teacher from Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, in mid-July, informed sources said Monday.
According to the sources, the 37-year-old man disappeared not long after an altercation with the four suspects, who claimed to be gangster acquaintances of a woman he had met via an Internet dating service.
In early July, the four men confined the teacher in a Tokyo hotel room for around 24 hours, police said.
During this period, they allegedly took his cellular phone and wallet, and withdrew some 1.5 million yen from his bank account.
The men then returned the wallet and released the teacher, who immediately reported the incident to investigators at Koshigaya Police Station.
He explained that he had lent a woman he had met over the Net more than 1 million yen, but that she had refused to return the money.
He reportedly told investigators that the men who had confined and threatened him said they were gangster acquaintances of the woman.
Since then, the teacher has failed to report to work, where he has not been seen since July 16. He has not returned to his apartment, where he lives alone, and his car has been found abandoned, investigators said.
Police said the warrants that have been issued relate to possible charges of confinement and theft.
Several other people are also believed to have been involved in the incident, sources close to the investigation said. The men will also be quizzed in connection with the teacher's disappearance, they added.