Ex-Tokyo cop: Hand gesture by Roppongi hostess arrested in cocaine sting reveals gang ties

TOKYO (TR) – A 27-year-old top cabaret club hostess and YouTuber was arrested for possessing cocaine , but it was a cryptic hand gesture flashed at the media that is drawing the attention of police to her underworld ties, reports weekly tabloid Friday (Nov. 6).

In September, Rino Tazawa , known online as “Yamato Rino,” was arrested in flagrante delicto at her home for possessing 0.4 grams of cocaine, divided into 21 small baggies. She was subsequently rearrested on suspicion of using both cocaine and ketamine.

However, it was her demeanor during her transfer to prosecutors that caused a stir. As she sat in the back of a police vehicle, Tazawa — who recently served as a judge on the hostess club audition show “Last Call” — flashed a defiant smile. Using her right thumb, index, and middle fingers, she formed a “C-shape” for the press cameras.

While the gesture sparked various interpretations online, former Tokyo Metropolitan Police inspector Akihari Hirano revealed the sign’s true meaning: it represents the number “3” and is a recognized gang sign for “Santama.”

The Santama region encompasses western Tokyo municipalities such as Tachikawa, Hachioji, Machida, and Fussa. According to Hirano, who previously interrogated Fussa City-based rapper Kenny-G over the exact same hand gesture, the sign is used by local street gangs ( hangure ).

“It was a Santama gang sign. I believe she wanted to appeal that she is an affiliate of those groups,” Hirano noted.

The arrest highlights a growing intersection between nightlife workers, crime rings and the yakuza. In January, Tokyo police established a task force to dismantle the Kohei-ikka , a powerful affiliate of the Sumiyoshi-kai yakuza syndicate. Police suspect the group is deeply tied to tokuryu syndicates, which are anonymous crime groups whose members communicate via smartphone while operating in the high-end entertainment districts of Roppongi and Nishi Azabu.

In these locations, hostesses are known to fraternize with underworld figures, with cocaine being heavily utilized and referred to by the slang term charinko (bicycle). Wealthy clients often invite hostesses to “go pedal a bicycle” at after-parties. Rather than just getting high, hostesses reportedly use the stimulant to sober up, allowing them to drink more alcohol with VIP customers.

These VIPs are frequently escorted by Santama-based hangure acting as bodyguards, who reportedly source their narcotics directly from a Kohei-ikka subgroup.

The police crackdown on these tokuryu networks recently exposed severe internal corruption. In March, former anti-organized crime detective Daisuke Jinbo was handed a suspended 18-month prison sentence for leaking confidential raid information and police camera locations to Natural, Japan’s largest illegal scouting group and a major tokuryu syndicate.

Published in Crime , News , Tabloid and Tokyo

Amy Takahashi reads tabloids for The Tokyo Reporter

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东京（TR）——据周刊小报周五（11月6日）报道，一名27岁的顶级夜总会女招待兼YouTube博主因持有可卡因而被捕，但她向媒体做出的一个神秘手势引起了警方对她与黑社会关系的关注。

9月，网名为“Yamato Rino”的田泽莉乃（Rino Tazawa）因持有0.4克可卡因而被捕，这些可卡因被分装在21个小袋子中。随后，她因涉嫌同时使用可卡因和氯胺酮而被再次逮捕。

然而，真正引起轰动的是她被移送检方时的举止。坐在警车后座的田泽——这位最近刚担任过陪酒俱乐部选秀节目《Last Call》评委的女子——露出了挑衅的笑容。她用右手的拇指、食指和中指对着媒体的镜头摆出了“C”字形。

虽然这一手势在网上引发了各种解读，但前东京警视厅警官平野明治揭示了该手势的真正含义：它代表数字“3”，是公认的帮派“Santama”的手势。

圣多摩地区涵盖东京西部的一些市町村，例如立川市、八王子市、町田市和福生市。据平野称，他之前曾就同样的手势质问过福生市的说唱歌手Kenny-G，这个手势是当地街头帮派（hangure）使用的。

“那是桑塔玛帮的手势。我相信她想借此表明自己是这些团伙的成员，”平野指出。

此次逮捕行动凸显了夜生活从业者、犯罪团伙和黑帮之间日益密切的联系。今年1月，东京警方成立专案组，旨在瓦解“行平一花”（Kohei-ikka），该组织是住吉会（Sumiyoshi-kai）黑帮的强大分支。警方怀疑该组织与“德流”（tokuryu）组织有着千丝万缕的联系。“德流”是指那些在六本木和西麻布等高档娱乐区活动的匿名犯罪团伙，其成员通过智能手机进行联络。

在这些地方，陪酒女郎与黑社会人物交往密切，可卡因被大量使用，并被俚语称为“charinko”（自行车）。富有的客户经常在派对结束后邀请陪酒女郎“去骑自行车”。据报道，陪酒女郎使用这种兴奋剂并非为了吸毒，而是为了让自己清醒过来，以便能与VIP客户一起喝更多酒。

这些贵宾经常由驻扎在圣多摩的黑帮保镖护送，据说这些保镖直接从“Kohei-ikka”的一个分支组织获取毒品。

警方近期对这些非法活动网络的打击行动揭露了严重的内部腐败问题。今年3月，前反黑社会刑警神保大辅因向日本最大的非法侦查组织“Natural”（也是主要的非法活动集团之一）泄露机密的突袭信息和警方监控摄像头位置而被判处18个月缓刑。

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