FUKUSHIMA — Police have arrested Issa Manabe, a 23-year-old pachinko parlor employee, for allegedly staging a ¥28 million ($190,000) robbery at his workplace in Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture.
According to investigators, Manabe conspired with two others, including a 19-year-old vocational student and 21-year-old getaway driver Ren Murayama, to fake a robbery during the early hours of August 12.
Authorities say Manabe pretended to be threatened by the 19-year-old, who held a gun-like object, as he opened the safe inside the pachinko parlor. Surveillance footage and statements from the accomplices later revealed the act was orchestrated.
After stealing the cash, the 19-year-old and Murayama reportedly transported the money to a train station in Tokyo, where it was handed over to a third party in a restroom, suggesting the involvement of a larger criminal network.
Manabe was arrested on Tuesday after police linked him to the crime through interviews and mounting evidence. Police are continuing their investigation and believe the group may have been directed by someone else who has yet to be apprehended.
