Tokyo police served fresh arrest warrants on Tuesday to four men believed to be senior members of a crime ring, on suspicion of involvement in a murder-burglary.
Imamura Kiyoto, Watanabe Yuki, Fujita Toshiya and Kojima Tomonobu allegedly issued orders from an immigration facility in the Philippines where they had been detained at the time of the crime.
The four men are suspected of colluding with people who entered the home of 90-year-old Ohshio Kinuyo in Komae City, Tokyo, in January. The perpetrators allegedly assaulted the woman, tied her up, killed her and stole luxury watches and other items.
Investigators believe the suspects used names such as "Kim" or "Mitsuhashi" and communicated with the perpetrators on the anonymous app, Telegram. They determined that the four were involved based on analyses of communication records and testimonies of other people in the immigration facility in the Philippines.
The four suspects are thought to belong to a crime ring that has committed a series of violent burglaries across Japan. Imamura, who is believed to be the group's leader, has already been arrested on suspicion of ordering the robberies of a watch store in Kyoto City and a recycling shop in Chiba Prefecture. Imamura, Watanabe and Fujita have been arrested on suspicion of instructing the burglary of a home in Adachi Ward.
Tokyo police investigators plan to look into the crime ring's chain of command and the division of roles.