Japanese police have arrested 11 men, including a Yakuza, in connection with the theft of Yen1.8 billion ($17.3 million) from cash machines across the country in a co-ordinated two-hour raid in May.
The raid saw about 100 culprits use cloned Standard Bank cards to make approximately 14,000 transactions, each totaling Yen100,000, from cash machines located in convenience stores across the country.
Police in Niigata Prefecture say that the 11 men they have arrested are suspected of stealing Yen11.4 million from 11 stores.
Among those arrested is Junya Tanaka, who, according to the Japan Times, is a senior member of a group affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan’s largest organised crime syndicate.
The suspects were identified using security video footage, which showed them using plain white cards to make withdrawals. The cards contained data from Standard Bank. say police.