The police in Tokyo have arrested five Uzbek men in their 20s on suspicion of robbery and assault in Shibuya last December.
The five men are accused of conspiring to pick a fight with three foreign men and women on the street in Maruyama-cho, Shibuya Ward, at around 5:30 a.m. on December 30 last year, and stealing their wallets and bags worth 210,000 yen. They allegedly injured one of the men by kicking him in the face, NTV reported.
Police said the gang, four of whom are in Japan illegally, are also believed to have made 8 million yen by reselling smartphones they had purchased using credit cards stolen from drunk people in at least 10 cases in the entertainment districts of Shibuya and Shinjuku between August last year and February this year.
Police said one of the group, a 21-year-old man believed to be the leader, is refusing to talk until he sees a lawyer. The other four suspects have denied the allegations, police said.
