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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Japanese Cult Official Arrested

Compiled From Wire Services

Police on Monday arrested a leading member of a doomsday cult who is suspected of supervising the nerve gas attack on Tokyo’s subways, marking what appeared to be a major breakthrough in the 2-month-old investigation.

After an intense, nationwide search, police arrested Yoshihiro Inoue and three other members of the Aum Shinri Kyo cult at a roadblock on the outskirts of Tokyo just before dawn.

Inoue resisted arrest, and was taken into custody for obstruction of justice. He was later identified by his fingerprints, said a spokesman for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

Police confiscated numerous documents, a personal computer and hundreds of other items from the cult members’ car.

Inoue, 25, is head of the cult’s “Ministry of Intelligence,” and was a close confidant of cult leader Shoko Asahara. Asahara dropped out of sight after the March 20 subway attack, which left 12 dead and sickened more than 5,500.