The three suspects are Trinh Quoc Cuong, 42, Le Hong Quan, 28, and Dinh Duc Chuyen, 45. All three are Vietnamese citizens who came to Japan as technical interns but later became unemployed and homeless, according to Japanese media reports on 19/9.

According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, the three are accused of stealing 28 items, including 19 bags of rice totaling 105 kg, worth approximately 106,000 yen (nearly 800 USD) from two supermarkets in Maebashi and Isesaki cities in Gunma prefecture on the afternoon of 12/5.

Rice displayed in a supermarket in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: Yomiuri

Rice displayed in a supermarket in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: Yomiuri

The men entered the supermarkets, stole the rice in about three to four minutes, and then left in a car driven by Cuong. Security camera footage shows them using shopping carts to remove the goods from the supermarkets without going through the checkout counters.

After arresting the three men in May for illegal residency, Japanese police examined their mobile phones and discovered they had visited 60 supermarkets and retail stores across five prefectures: Ibaraki, Chiba, Gunma, Saitama, and Tochigi, between April and May.

During searches of related locations, investigators also found several delivery receipts marked "rice" addressed to Tokyo and Chiba. Tokyo police subsequently determined that the group may have distributed the stolen rice through an organized network. Authorities are conducting a detailed investigation.

Two of the suspects deny the allegations, saying they "have absolutely no memory of this." The third suspect has confessed.

Duc Trung (NHK, Yomiuri)