Hiroshima police rearrested a construction company president and a former executive on Monday for allegedly referring a rejected job applicant to an anonymous criminal group, which had then sought to send him overseas to work in fraud. Riho Maehara, 32, president of a construction company, and former company executive Yuka Matsumoto, 30, both from the city’s Asaminami Ward, were rearrested on suspicion of attempting to abduct someone for transport overseas and violating Japan’s employment security act by referring a person to harmful work, Hiroshima Prefectural Police said. Police suspect the two acted as recruiters for a tokuryū, a fluid and anonymous criminal network whose members often communicate through encrypted apps and frequently change personnel.
The pair allegedly approached a 35-year-old man in Hiroshima Prefecture after rejecting him for a job at their construction company, telling him they could introduce him to “telemarketing work overseas where he could make good money.” They then allegedly referred him to the criminal group and attempted to have him sent to Southeast Asia between late March and mid-April, police said. Maehara and Matsumoto were previously arrested on Aug. 17 on suspicion of abducting another person and sending them to Taiwan using a similar method. Police believe the criminal group interviewed people whom Maehara and Matsumoto referred over video calls, instructing them to use highly secure messaging apps before then recruiting them as callers in specialized fraud schemes.
Investigators are examining the pair’s alleged roles and the broader structure of the group.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
