Tokyo Police Arrest Chinese Man Over Fake Cell Tower

Tokyo police have arrested a 31-year-old Chinese man accused of running a fake cell tower from a car in the city’s Ginza district, in what is believed to be Japan’s first case of its kind involving interference with mobile phone communications, Jiji Press reported.

The suspect, Yu Hai, an unemployed resident of Tokyo’s Kita Ward, was arrested at the scene on Saturday (Nov 7) on suspicion of operating a radio station without a licence under Japan’s radio law, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

Fake cell tower hidden in car

Police allege that specialised equipment installed in the vehicle sent jamming signals that cut off normal communications. Mobile handsets were then forced to connect to a fake base station that used the older 2G standard, the report said.

On Monday (Nov 9), the police also referred Yu to prosecutors under the radio law for allegedly interfering with the services of mobile carrier NTT Docomo.

Suspect denies allegations

Yu has denied the allegations, saying he had never used a radio transmitter, according to investigative sources cited by Jiji Press.

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