Crime & Justice

Japanese ‘love scam’ ringleader extradited from Ghana

Tokyo, Aug 8 (EFE).- A man sought by police for allegedly being the head of an international love scam ring that defrauded dozens of people of $4.8 million was extradited to Japan on Monday.

According to the state-run media outlet NHK, the suspect, Hikaru Morikawa, 58, arrived at Kansai airport (in Osaka) from Ghana.

A Japanese police squad that had coordinated his transfer with the Ghanaian authorities flew him in from the African country.

The Japanese authorities allege that he is the boss of a global group that made phony accounts on dating websites and other social media platforms.

They conned individuals into thinking they were in love and extorted money from them, including for living costs.

The gang members used romantic allures to seduce others while pretending to be women working overseas.

According to NHK, which cited police sources, 65 victims paid millions of dollars to the group’s bank account.

After residing in Ghana since August 2018, Morikawa was detained there last month.

When he was asked to turn in his passport by the authorities in February of this year, it had already expired.

He was said to have stayed in Ghana illegally ever since.

He oversaw a 15-person team of Ghanaian and Japanese nationals who are accused of actively participating in the fraud and transferring funds to the scammers. EFE

ahg-ssk

Related Articles

Back to top button