Japanese police plan to request that Philippine authorities hand over four suspects. At least one of them is thought to be linked to a series of robberies across Japan.

The four Japanese nationals are detained in a Philippine immigration bureau facility. One or more of them were allegedly involved in the robberies organized by someone named "Luffy." Police are unsure whether Luffy is one person or a group of people that shares the nickname.

Japanese investigative sources say the suspects include Watanabe Yuki and Imamura Kiyoto. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police had obtained arrest warrants for the four people for their alleged involvement in a scam in 2019.

Police have arrested a number of suspects in the robberies, one of which resulted in the death of a 90-year-old woman in Tokyo.

Investigators analyzed the suspects' mobile phones and found that Luffy recruited and gave instructions to them through social media. Communication data suggested that Luffy is in the Philippines.