TOKYO, Nov 14 (News On Japan) –
A senior Tokyo Metropolitan Police officer has been arrested on suspicion of leaking confidential investigation knowledge to members of a decentralized felony community generally known as “Tokuryu.”
The suspect, 43-year-old Assistant Inspector Daisuke Jimbo of the Anti-Organized Crime Division, was taken into custody after inside investigators discovered proof that he had shared surveillance footage and different supplies with people linked to the group.
Jimbo, who beforehand led investigations into “Natural,” Japan’s largest scout-based group accused of unlawful recruitment and human trafficking, is alleged to have handed info to its members. According to police sources, inside monitoring of Jimbo started round April or May this 12 months following indicators of an info leak.
Fuji TV’s Metropolitan Police Bureau correspondent Takashi Yamashita reported that suspicions first surfaced earlier within the 12 months when “Natural” members scheduled for arrest in January all of the sudden disappeared simply earlier than the operation started. “Investigators were furious, saying, ‘It’s impossible for them to flee at such timing—someone inside must be leaking information,’” Yamashita recalled. The direct hyperlink between that incident and Jimbo has not but been established.
Police sources stated Jimbo allegedly used a specialised utility employed by “Natural” members to transmit photos from cameras put in for surveillance functions. While investigators haven’t confirmed whether or not the identical app was used, footage aired in Fuji TV’s September version of “Spotlight” confirmed “Natural” members demonstrating an inside communication app referred to as “Chat Alpha,” designed to look like a news utility. The app, reportedly developed by “Natural” itself, is obligatory on all members’ smartphones and serves as a channel for sharing operational updates and escape ways.
One energetic member interviewed throughout this system defined, “We share how to avoid arrest and what to do if detained. It’s like directives from management.” Fuji TV’s investigation additional revealed that the app contained advance warnings of police raids, together with one stating, “We received leaked information that Chiba police will raid 4–5 shops on July 13th or 14th.” Chiba Prefectural Police did, in truth, conduct raids on these dates and arrested a number of people, though the division declined to touch upon whether or not the leak originated from inside regulation enforcement, saying, “We are not aware of such posts or testimony.”
The arrest of a serving police officer has despatched shockwaves via the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, which solely final month reorganized its construction and created a brand new “Special Investigation Division” devoted to cracking down on Tokuryu networks. “It’s nothing short of betrayal,” stated one senior officer. “It’s an act that has deeply disappointed every investigator.”
Reporter Yamashita famous, “This case shows how the very people tasked with dismantling Tokuryu were instead being manipulated by them. The incident underscores the urgent need for stricter information security within the police force.”
Source: FNN