Robbery in Tokyo involving 600 million yen in cash

Two robberies took place in Tokyo, Japan, involving money of more than 600 million yen, or over 30 million Hong Kong dollars. Reports say the victims of both cases had originally planned to bring the cash to Hong Kong.

According to the Japanese broadcaster NHK, at around 9:30 p.m. Thursday night, three male suspects used a pepper spray-like substance and stole suitcases loaded with 420 million yen from five people in Taito Ward, central Tokyo.

The assault occurred when the five were loading the suitcases into a private car.

The victims, including three Japanese and two Chinese nationals, were aged between 20 and 40.

One assailant is believed to be approximately 170 cm tall and dressed in a black knit cap and leather jacket.

Police later found a blue mini-vehicle abandoned near the scene.

Another robbery was reported in the Tokyo Haneda International Airport during the wee hours of Friday.

A man in his 50s was attacked with pepper spray while walking in a parking lot close to Terminal 3 and suffered eye injuries.

Police said the male attacker was in a white car which drove off quickly.

The victim had about 190 million yen in his vehicle. The cash was not stolen.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department said the two attacks could point to a single group of perpetrators, according to the victims' descriptions and on-site CCTV footage.

Police are probing into whether the two cases are connected.