At Haneda Airport, which is located near central Tokyo and boasts the busiest number of passengers in Japan, there are investigators from the Metropolitan Police Department who are keeping an eye on violent criminals fleeing the country. They were on duty 24 hours a day, and were instrumental in finding and arresting the suspect just three hours after the incident occurred. In some cases, such as Anonymous and Mobile Criminal Groups (Tokuryu), have bases overseas, border control measures are becoming increasingly important.
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The Haneda International Investigation Center, part of the agency's international crime control division, was established in December 2015 in response to an increase in the number of visitors to Japan. In addition to preventing suspects from escaping overseas, their main mission is to support the transportation of suspects being transferred from overseas. Previously, officers from nearby police stations responded to requests after receiving them, but after the center was established, full-time investigators are stationed at the airport 24 hours a day to provide security.
Once a suspect is identified after an incident occurs, investigators use information such as his name, date of birth, height and clothing to confirm his departure status. Search mainly around the counters of airlines you are likely to use.
In a murder case that occurred in Setagaya Ward in September last year, he helped find a Korean suspect who had not yet completed immigration procedures. This led to the speedy arrest about three hours after the incident. The man booked a flight ticket immediately after the incident and attempted to flee.
In May of this year, he also contributed to the arrest of the person who directed the robbery and murder of a woman in a private house in Kamimikawa-cho, Tochigi Prefecture. Three days after the incident, the suspect was located in the departure lobby after completing immigration inspection and was located in collaboration with prefectural police investigators.
Lieutenant Akemi Shimizuguchi, who has been working at the center for about eight years in total, says that she feels a great sense of satisfaction when she is able to respond to a request, collaborating not only with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department but also with police forces across the country.``It doesn't work to say, 'I can't do it because it's my first time.'I continue to feel the tension of being at the edge of the border,'' she says.
When supporting the transportation of suspects being transferred from foreign countries, we help ensure that immigration procedures and customs inspections are completed smoothly, and we sometimes make plans a month in advance to ensure the safety of the general public. One memorable incident was in 2019, when 70 investigators and others were involved in escorting 12 suspects involved in a special fraud case.
According to the division, thorough border measures are being taken not only at Haneda Airport, but also at the Tokyo International Cruise Terminal, which is the gateway to the sea, and at the piers where cargo ships call.
Superintendent Kiyuki Takahashi, who served as the section chief until August, emphasized, ``Since its inauguration, we have accumulated know-how such as cooperation with related organizations.As the number of cases of people fleeing overseas, including the Tokuryu series of cases, is expected to increase, we will have a major role to play.''
