‘Luffy’ crime group’s alleged leader denies robbery resulting in death

Yuki Watanabe, alleged leader of a Japanese crime group known as “Luffy,” denied a charge of robbery resulting in death during the opening of his trial at Tokyo District Court on Wednesday. The 42-year-old Watanabe claimed his role was limited to assisting his accomplices, pleading not guilty to several other charges. This is Watanabe's third trial since three of the four senior members of the group were arrested and indicted. Closing arguments and the verdict are scheduled for December 2 and December 14, respectively.

The other three senior members of the group, Toshiya Fujita and Kiyoto Imamura, have faced different outcomes. Fujita was sentenced to life imprisonment for robbery resulting in death and is appealing the ruling. Imamura's trial has not yet begun.

Prosecutors argued that Watanabe established a fraud group in the Philippines, with Kojima and Fujita joining him. Imamura, who led a separate fraud group, used the facility as well. The four were detained by local authorities around April 2021 and held at an immigration detention facility near Manila.

Prosecutors stated that Watanabe and the others needed money to escape the detention facility or flee abroad, so they cooperated with Imamura, the alleged mastermind behind the robberies. Watanabe allegedly planned one of the robberies, ordering the perpetrators to target a house when only the wife was present. Watanabe admitted to 12 other cases of special fraud. According to the indictment, Watanabe was involved in seven robbery cases across four Japanese prefectures, resulting in one fatality.