Police search Bigmotor headquarters amid scandal over roadside trees

Police on Friday searched the headquarters of used car dealer Bigmotor Co. in Tokyo on suspicion of property destruction, investigative sources said after roadside trees near its dealership outlets were found to have withered unnaturally.

Soil inspections at its stores carried out by local governments detected traces of herbicide, and police are investigating whether the company’s headquarters were instructing the stores to carry out the damage, the sources said.

The search came amid speculation that the scandal-hit company was intentionally damaging trees near its stores so that the cars on d...