Aichi Police Arrest 29 Fraud Suspects Extradited from Cambodia

   Tokoname, Aichi Pref., Aug. 20 (Jiji Press)--Police in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, arrested 29 extradited Japanese nationals in their 10s to 50s on Wednesday on suspicion of involvement in phone scams conducted from a northeastern Cambodian town.
   The 29 people, who had been detained in Cambodia, arrived at Chubu Centrair International Airport in Aichi the same day on a chartered flight from Phnom Penh, accompanied by investigators. They were then sent to several police stations.
   According to investigative sources, the suspects allegedly posed as police officers investigating money laundering and other cases and called victims in the Kanto eastern Japan region to swindle them of cash.
   In late May, Cambodian authorities raided their base in Poipet, a town near the Thai border, and detained them in a facility in Phnom Penh.
   The existence of the crime base had been mentioned by an Aichi man in his 20s who was forced to work at the base under the supervision of around eight Chinese nationals. The man entered Cambodia via Thailand in late December last year, guided by a middleman he met through a major job search website, and returned to Japan in early January.

(2025/08/20-21:54)

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