Japanese police arrested two men on Friday for their roles in a fraud scheme targeting an elderly man in February 2026 [1].
The arrests highlight the growing threat of "Tokuryū," an anonymous and fluid type of crime group that often collaborates with traditional organized crime to execute sophisticated scams.
Saitama Prefectural Police in Midori-ward arrested Sugawara Shōta, 32, and Ito Daishō, 21 [1, 2]. Sugawara is identified as a member of a yakuza group, while Ito is alleged to have acted as an instruction-giver for the operation [1, 2].
According to investigators, the suspects used a scam phone call to trick an elderly man by pretending to be his son [1, 2]. The victim was convinced to hand over ¥500,000 in cash [1], as well as a cash-card, and a passbook [1, 2].
The victim reported the incident to emergency services via the 110 line, which triggered the investigation by the Saitama Prefectural Police and other regional units [2].
Police said the suspects were part of a larger operation orchestrated by the Tokuryū group [1, 2]. This type of criminal organization differs from traditional yakuza structures because it is more flexible and often consists of loosely affiliated individuals who coordinate via digital platforms to carry out financial crimes [2].
“The suspects used a scam phone call to trick an elderly man by pretending to be his son.”
The involvement of both a traditional yakuza member and a Tokuryū operator suggests a convergence between established organized crime and new-age, decentralized criminal networks. By combining the muscle or legitimacy of the yakuza with the agility of fluid crime groups, these syndicates can more effectively target vulnerable populations through social engineering and digital coordination.
