30 Million Yen in Cash Robbed from a Private Residence in Just 4 Minutes by 6 Criminals

The crime was committed in only four minutes.

The group broke into a house and robbed approximately 30 million yen in cash. They fled the scene in a mini car.

On December 5, the Nogata Police Station of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested Masahiro Wano, 34, an unemployed suspect, on suspicion of robbery and assault. He was taken into custody by police officers who arrived at the scene after receiving a 110 call.

“The scene was a residential area in Kamitakada, Nakano Ward. According to a neighbor, a police officer was chasing the suspect, shouting “Wait, you idiot!” while chasing after the suspect. The suspect fell down and injured himself while fleeing, and was unable to walk alone when he was caught. About 10 million yen in cash belonging to Wano was scattered on the road at the scene, but the police have recovered it,” said a reporter from the society department of a national newspaper.

Posing as a courier .

The incident occurred just before 11:00 a.m. on December 5. A group of criminals posing as couriers rang the intercom of a house, and when a 49-year-old male resident opened the door, two of them suddenly struck him in the face. The remaining four entered and ransacked the house. They took about 30 million yen in cash that was in a closet and fled.

The suspects were caught on a street about 40 meters away from the house. He admitted to the police that he was suspected of the crime, but did not say much about the other members of the group. It is said that the victim and the group were not acquainted with each other.

The group may have had a cunning plan. Former Kanagawa Prefectural Police detective and crime journalist Taihei Ogawa thinks so.

Even if they did not know the victims, there must have been someone in the group who knew that a large amount of cash was stored in the house. That person must have had highly accurate information about the location of the cash. Normally, one would not leave a large amount of cash in a house because of the manner in which things are done. The victim may not have been thinking about tax reporting or had special circumstances that prevented him from depositing the money in a bank.

“The large group of six people also suggests that the crime was planned. Usually robberies are committed by a single person or two. If the other party is a small group, the victim will resist violently. To suppress the defiance, the perpetrator may tie up the victim or, in the worst case, kill him. However, if there are six people, they can avoid inflicting serious damage on the victim. It’s a short, efficient way to accomplish the goal.”

The police are still trying to track down the other five who escaped.