Three Vietnamese Nationals Arrested Over Suspected Residence Card Forgery, Organized Counterfeiting Ring Suspected
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By May 2026, Tochigi Prefectural Police had arrested three Vietnamese nationals — Nguyen Ba Quyet (34, of Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture), Phan Van Thai (30, of Sano, Tochigi Prefecture), and Nguyen Quang Cuong (26, also of Sano) — on suspicion of forgery of private documents and related charges for allegedly using a computer to forge a residence card. The alleged offense took place on March 11 of that year, with the forgery said to have been carried out using a computer at one of the suspects' homes in Sano.
Police are investigating with a view to possible involvement in an organized network for forging and selling residence cards. Current status: The suspects have been arrested; whether they will be indicted has not been disclosed as of this writing.
Forgery of private documents (Article 159 of the Penal Code) carries a statutory penalty of three months to five years' imprisonment, and using a forged residence card can additionally result in charges of using a forged private document. Some observers note that the relative ease of producing forged cards with just a computer and printer has helped fuel this type of crime.
Regarding the misuse of residence cards, there has also been a reported case involving a criminal organization executive accused of lending another person's residence card for use in identity-fraud procedures (related coverage), suggesting that forgery and misuse may be linked through organized networks.