THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
February 13, 2020 at 16:12 JST
Kansai International Airport at Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
OSAKA--A Chinese national wanted for fraud and theft was arrested when he tried to re-enter Japan to stock up on face masks.
Zhang Zhiqiang, 22, told police that stocks of face masks had run out in China due to the new coronavirus epidemic and he returned to Japan to purchase them for friends.
Zhang was arrested at Kansai International Airport here on Feb. 2.
Police said Zhang was wanted on suspicion of defrauding a woman in her 80s living in Osaka’s Minato Ward.
He is alleged to have conspired with others to use her cash card to withdrew 1.4 million yen ($12,700) in cash from an ATM. After the incident, he fled overseas.
Zhang was arrested with an empty suitcase and apparently intended to fill it with face masks.
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