50-Year-Old Gangster Steals 172 Rolex Watches in 3 Minutes, Causing 280 Million Yen in Losses

A crime that lasted only 3 minutes.

It was a lightning-fast crime.

On October 16, the Osaka Prefectural Police’s Investigation Division 3 arrested three individuals, including Shinya Onishi (52), a member of the Yamaguchi-gumi, a designated violent crime gang, for stealing a van containing 172 Rolex watches (valued at 280 million yen) on the streets of Chūō Ward, Osaka.

“On May 21 of this year, around 8:45 AM, a delivery driver had parked his van on the street while delivering Rolex watches to an authorized dealer. In the mere 3 minutes the driver was away from the vehicle for another delivery, one of the suspects got into the van and drove off with it. The van’s engine key was left in the ignition, as the driver had failed to lock the doors,” said a reporter from a national newspaper’s society department.

Around 9 hours after the crime, the van was found abandoned on a street approximately 2 km away in Naniwa Ward, Osaka. Five silver aluminum cases containing the Rolex watches were missing.

“The suspects drove to the crime scene in two vehicles, including the stolen van. They transferred the Rolex watches into their own vehicle and abandoned the stolen van. Surveillance cameras nearby captured not only Onishi and the other arrested individuals but also another man who appeared to be the leader, Tetsu Murata (52), whose occupation is unknown. Murata was quickly placed on the wanted list and turned himself in later that same day,” the reporter continued.

A new suspect, who allegedly played a role in directing the crime, has been arrested.

The stolen light van belonged to a delivery company contracted by Rolex Japan. The female driver in her 60s, who had been responsible for deliveries in the area where the incident occurred, was making the delivery as usual that day, alone. According to sources involved in the investigation:

“The van appeared to be an ordinary vehicle at first glance, not easily recognizable as a delivery vehicle. No one would suspect that it was carrying 280 million yen worth of Rolex watches. There may have been prior leaks of information about a specific van with a particular license plate, making deliveries along a fixed route at certain times, with the driver being a woman who also handled other deliveries and left the keys in the vehicle.”

The crime itself took only about three minutes, confirming it was a planned and organized operation. On October 21, two new suspects, Kenji Morikita (55) and Akihiko Ozaki (39), believed to have been directing the crime, were arrested. Most of the stolen Rolex watches have yet to be recovered.