Senior "JP Dragon" Crime Ring Member Jailed for 42 Months
Tokyo, July 29 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo District Court on Tuesday sentenced a senior member of the "JP Dragon" crime ring based in the Philippines to three years and six months in prison for fraud.
Tomohiro Koyama, 51, is believed to be the third-highest-ranking member of the ring comprising Japanese nationals. He is a former member of another crime group led by Yuki Watanabe, 41, whose members used the pseudonym Luffy. Watanabe has been charged with robbery resulting in death.
Koyama was detained by Philippine authorities and extradited to Japan in November 2024.
Presiding Judge Yasushi Fuke said that Koyama's actions were "part of an organized and professional crime and very malicious."
"He played an important role so that the whole organization could carry out crimes efficiently," the judge said, noting that Koyama managed ring members as a leader of a team tasked with making scam phone calls to victims. "It must be said that the criminal responsibility is heavy."
(2025/07/29-17:17)
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