Glico Morinaga Case - The Glico Blackmailing

The Glico Blackmailing

The extortion attempts against Glico did not end with the escape of Ezaki. On April 10, vehicles in the parking lot of the Ezaki Glico headquarters' trial production building were set on fire. Then, on April 16, a plastic container containing hydrochloric acid and a threatening letter to Glico were found in Ibaraki.

On May 10, Glico began to receive letters from a person or group calling itself "The Monster with 21 Faces" (かい人21面相, kaijin nijūichi mensō) claiming that they had laced their candies with a potassium cyanide soda. When Glico pulled its products off the shelves at great expense, the "Monster with 21 Faces" threatened to place the tampered products in stores. Meanwhile, the "Monster with 21 Faces" sent letters, written in hiragana and with an Osaka dialect, to the police, taunting them, as seen in this excerpt from one of their messages:

"Dear dumb police officers. Don't tell a lie. All crimes begin with a lie as we say in Japan. Don't you know that?" The written challenge was also sent to Koshien police station. "Why don't you keep it to yourself? You seem to be at a loss. So why not let us help you? We'll give you a clue. We entered the factory by the front gate. The typewriter we used is Panwriter. The plastic container used was a piece of street garbage. Monster with 21 faces".

Eventually, the "Monster" stopped contacting Glico and, on June 26, issued a letter saying "We Forgive Glico!". However, the "Monster" then turned its extortion campaign on Morinaga and the food companies Marudai Ham and House Foods Corporation.