7 quasi-gang members arrested for obstructing Apple store in Tokyo

Police arrested seven quasi-gang members on Tuesday for allegedly having a quarrel in front of an Apple Store in Tokyo in September last year and therefore obstructing business at the outlet.
The seven, including Kajiro Shirai, 50, and Song Guoqing, a 43-year-old Chinese national, are members of a quasi-gang group called Chinese Dragon, according to police sources. It is not known whether they have admitted to the allegation.
They are believed to have been seeking to purchase many iPhone 15 handsets at the store in the Japanese capital’s Shibuya Ward for resale.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, some of the seven, including Song, tried to join a line outside the store on Sept. 22, 2023, the launch day for the iPhone 15 models, to wait for cancellations of reservations to buy the smartphones, but they were blocked by others including Shirai, who were already in the line. They repeatedly quarreled in the following days.