Hachioji, 500 million yen theft] “I deposited money that I couldn’t reveal,” said a user of a safe-deposit box who was a victim of the theft.

The building was famous as a location for TV dramas.

On the morning of April 28, a safe-deposit box employee called 110 to report that his safe-deposit box had been broken into, leading to the discovery of the theft.

According to a reporter from a national newspaper, “Security cameras showed several people entering the facility on the night of the 27th, the day before, and leaving in a car about 10 minutes later.

There were approximately 900 safe deposit boxes in the vault, two of which had been destroyed with what appeared to be a crowbar. Although the safes were double-locked with a dial lock and keyhole, it is believed that both were pried open and the cash inside was stolen. One of the male victims apparently had approximately 400 to 500 million yen in cash stored in the safe.

Several security cameras are installed at the entrance to the building, and one must pass in front of the cameras when descending to the basement. The person believed to be the culprit was hiding his face with a hat or hood. The Metropolitan Police Department is in pursuit of the person who is believed to have fled in a car.

The safe-deposit box where the incident occurred is famous as a location for TV dramas, and autographs from actors have been posted on the management company’s Instagram page.

The area around the crime scene is a busy downtown area, lined with girls’ bars, cabaret clubs, and snack bars, and there are quite a few catches. In a smoking area a few meters away from the crime scene, businessmen on their way home from a drinking session were chatting and laughing. At first glance, it was hard to believe that there was a safe deposit box where several hundred million yen was deposited.

We spoke to a man who has been using the safe deposit box where the incident took place for many years. The man said he came back to Hachioji from Shinbashi, where he was out, after hearing the news. He told us more about this safe-deposit box, saying with surprise, “I have been using this safe-deposit box for quite a long time now, but this is the first time this has happened to me.

Someone with a suspicious atmosphere was using it.

‘The safe I was victimized by was a safe for large customers. I use a smaller safe, which I pay about 6,000 yen a year to keep my personal seal, contracts, and bank cash cards, which are dangerous to leave at home. With all the thefts and burglaries going on these days, the house would not be safe.”

Security seems to be quite tight, and three keys are needed to reach the contents of the safe deposit box, he said.

First, you need a key card to get into the basement,” he said. Then there is a separate key to enter the vault, and a separate key to open the safe. You have to understand how this works to get to the vault. Since the lock to the vault has not been broken, we believe that the crime was committed by a vault user or someone close to the vault. I have also seen people with a very suspicious atmosphere using the vault. I thought they were depositing money they couldn’t reveal to the public,” said a male user.

It takes about a month to make a card key, because of the steps required to prove one’s identity and to confirm one’s employment if one works at a company, according to one of the users. By checking the history of the user, it is possible to find out whose card key was used to enter the building. However, it is hard to believe that it is that easy to find the culprit.

It was a long time ago, but I once saw a person who happened to be there put a wad of cash in the safe,” he said. The safe was stuffed with a tremendous amount of bills, and there were even some gold bars in there. But it’s not often that you run into other people taking money in and out of the safe. I don’t think this case could have been targeted without pinpoint knowledge of the location of the large sum of money in the safe.

Coincidentally, on the afternoon of the 28th, a robbery in Katsushika Ward, Tokyo, in which a gold bar weighing over 2 kg was robbed, caused a stir in the public. Also, in January of this year, a suitcase containing approximately 420 million yen was stolen in Taito Ward. In this case, several gang leaders were arrested, and the police are investigating the case as a similar type of crime to the Tokuryo type.

Whether or not this case is one of these types of crimes will not be known until further investigation is conducted. In any case, the unprecedented situation of multiple robberies of huge sums of money is very critical.

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