Fukuoka robbers might be in Tokyo
KYODO —Police think the people behind the April robbery of a gold buyer in Fukuoka Prefecture switched cars after the ¥384 million heist and fled to Tokyo, investigative sources said.
The April 20 robbery in a parking lot near a Mizuho Bank branch in the city of Fukuoka involved two men who sprayed a 29-year-old employee of a precious metals shop in Tokyo and stole a bag filled with cash he had just withdrawn from the bank to buy gold bullion. The suspects, who fled by minivan, have been identified.
In late April, police found a white Honda Step WGN minivan they think was the getaway car, at a business believed to be unconnected to the culprits, the sources said Friday.
None of the stolen cash nor the bag was found inside, and the stolen license plate attached to it was gone, they said.
Police traced the change in cars via surveillance footage and are checking whether the robbers are based in or near Tokyo.