SUSPECTS FLEE WITH LIKELY HAUL OF US$2.7 MLN IN TOKYO ROBBERY

TOKYO, Jan 30 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- A group of three suspects robbed five people on a street in central Tokyo on Thursday night, fleeing with suitcases that the victims said contained around 420 million yen (US$2.7 million) in cash, Kyodo news agency citing police reported.

A few hours later, a man with luggage containing 190 million yen in cash was attacked early Friday with pepper spray in a parking lot at the capital's Haneda airport, but nothing was stolen from him, the police said.

Investigators are looking into a possible link between the incidents.

The victims in central Tokyo, three Japanese and two Chinese nationals ranging in age from their 20s to 40s, were robbed at around 9.30 pm local time in Taito Ward near JR Okachimachi Station as they were loading three suitcases containing the money into a passenger car.

According to Kyodo’s report, one of the Chinese victims in his 40s was allegedly attacked with pepper spray by the group before they fled with the suitcases, the police said.

A pedestrian in his 50s was struck by a vehicle in the area around the same time that the suspects left the scene.

A blue small passenger car was later found abandoned in the area. The pedestrian sustained minor injuries, the police said.

"The area around Okachimachi is lined with jewellery shops and has seen robberies before," a woman in her 50s who lives in the neighbourhood said, adding Thursday incident scared her.

-- BERNAMA-KYODO