Photo/Illutration The Metropolitan Police Department headquarters in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department announced on June 9 that undercover police officers identified a suspect in a “yami baito” (dark part-time job) and prevented the crime from occurring. 

The method of investigation involving police officers using fake identification papers in responding to ads was introduced this year.

While some prefectural police departments had already adopted this technique, police said this was the first successful identification of a suspect using this approach.

According to the First Investigation Division of the MPD, police officers applied for a yami baito job on a social media platform using false IDs and contacted scam group members.

Subsequently, the MPD identified a suspect who was believed to be involved in planning a scam operation in the Tokyo metropolitan or its surrounding area in May.

The police informed the potential victim about the attempted scam before it occurred.

The MPD didn’t disclose the gender or the role in the scam group of the suspect, as well as detailed techniques of the operation, to protect future investigations using the same methods and ensure the safety of its investigators.

“We contacted the scam group and learned of the concrete criminal plans before they occurred,” a senior MPD official said. “We also prevented the scam from taking place.”

The MPD said it will continue to use the same investigatory method.

The tactic was discussed in response to the series of home robbery invasions occurring in and around the Tokyo area last summer.

In January, the National Police Agency sent guidelines, including the investigation procedures and key cautionary points, to each prefectural police department and the MPD.

The NPA restricted the use of this method to scams and robberies involving dark part-time jobs that recruit perpetrators from the public, and mandated that police departments develop a plan before implementation.

National Public Safety Commission Chairman Manabu Sakai told reporters at a news conference in April that some prefectural police departments had already started using the investigatory tool.

(This article was written by Shomei Nagatsuma and Hiromichi Fujita.)

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