A court on Monday sentenced three men to up to seven years in prison over the theft of gold bars worth ¥750 million ($6.8 million) in July 2016 in Fukuoka.
The Fukuoka District Court ordered seven years in prison for Tomonori Shiraishi, 36, and 5½ years for both Takahiro Shirane, 28, and Takumi Uchida, 26.
Prosecutors had sought a 9-year term for Shiraishi and eight years for Shirane and Uchida. The three pleaded not guilty, arguing that there was a prior arrangement to transport the gold.