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Thirteen Re-Arrested in Japan Over Phone Scam Run From Cambodia

TOKYO - Thirteen men and women who were detained by local authorities at a special fraud base in Cambodia and transferred to Japan last month have been re-arrested on suspicion of attempted fraud, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

The suspects, aged between 20 and 63, were originally taken into custody in November last year at a fraud operation site in Cambodia and were brought back to Japan in January, before being re-arrested by the Metropolitan Police’s Special Investigation Division on allegations of attempted fraud.

Police said the group is suspected of making fraudulent phone calls from Cambodia last year to a man in his 50s in Osaka, falsely claiming that a bankbook in his name had been found at the home of the ringleader of a fraud case and that an arrest warrant had been issued, in an attempt to swindle him out of 1.5 million yen in cash.

Investigators said each member of the group had been promised a monthly reward of at least 4,000 dollars, and the total damage caused by the group’s special fraud activities is believed to amount to around 72 million yen.

Source: TBS

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