Article published on January 18th, 1985 by The Stars and Stripes.

HEADLINE: JAPANESE CANDY MAKERS RECEIVE MORE WARNINGS FROM EXTORTIONISTS

TOKYO (AP) - And extortionist group that has haunted dozens of Japanese Food companies sent packages of poisoned candies and letters of warning Wednesday to Japan's largest daily, Yomiuri Shimbun, the newspaper reported Thursday.

"The Man with 21 Faces," as the group calls itself, said in a letter received earlier Wednesday by three major dailies in the western Japanese city of Osaka that it would not stop it’s actions until it collected 1.3 billion yen ($5.1 million). It also warned it would renew its campaign against confectionery Morinaga Co., the main focus of the group's attacks since last spring.

Yomiuri said in a front page story Thursday that a security guard at its Osaka headquarters found at the entrance gate, a package of "Chocoball" and a package of "Packcho" were laced with lethal doses of sodium cyanide, according to police investigations.

The daily said a typewritten warning was pasted on the outside of the pack. It said: "Poisoned. You will die if you eat these. Please find two poised packages in the pack. The Man with 21 Faces."

The paper said police concluded the poisoned candies were from "The Man with 21 Faces," because the letters were written on the same kind of typewriter that was used to write 16 previous threatening letters the group had sent to news media in Osaka.

The letters inside the pack were addressed to "hardworking Morinaga employees" and said, "Here is our New Year's gift, as promised."

The letter told the employees that the group bought a "large number" of 1,000-yen ($3.90) Morinaga packages. The company sent their employees to the streets to sell the bags of candies at makeshift stalls after poisoned candy boxes were found on store shelves last October. No one was reported injured by the candies, which were clearly labeled "contains poison," but supermarkets across the nation responded by removing the Morinaga products.

The company lost $3.5 million in revenues last year.

The elusive extortionist group is known to have threatened at least 29 other foodstuff companies since they began threatening Ezaki Glico Co., Ltd., another major confectionery, in March 1984.

Police have said no money was handed over to the threatening group from any company extorted so far.