Japanese police announced that they are investigating four teenage suspects who showed up wearing masks at a high-end watch store in Ginza, a downtown Tokyo on the 8th, and stole a watch worth 1 billion won and fled.
According to the Yomiuri Shimbun on the 10th, the four suspects fled the scene in a rental car and were arrested by the police at a house in Akasaka, about 3km away from the scene on the night of the 8th.
They wore masks similar to those worn by the main characters of the Netflix original drama ‘The House of Paper’ and shocked them by openly committing theft while many passers-by watched.
The incident occurred at around 6:15 pm on the 8th at ‘Quark Ginza 888’, a Rolex specialty store in Ginza. A trio wearing white masks barged into the store, pointed a knife at the male employee, threatened him with “Get down, I will kill you,” and robbed more than 100 Rolex watches.
They took a rental car parked in front of the store and fled in 10 minutes.
Upon receiving the report, the police tracked down the rental car and arrested four people as red-handed criminals at a house in Akasaka within 30 minutes.
The car’s license plate had been changed and a white mask and a black bag containing 30 watches were found nearby.
They were unemployed (16), 3rd graders in private high school (18), job unknown (19), and part-time workers at restaurants (19), all in their teens. Three admitted to trespassing, but a high school senior denies the allegations.
According to an investigation official, the four people say they are ‘unknown’ about their relationship, but it is known that they are similar in age and live close to each other, so the police are investigating how they conspired to commit a crime together.
According to related videos posted on social media, they wore black tops and bottoms and white masks and used tools to break glass and steal watches at the store. It was early evening, so many passers-by witnessed the theft and took pictures with their smartphones, but they didn’t care. A woman who watched the crime even closed the door of the store.
Their theft attracted attention as they looked like they were mimicking the main characters of the Netflix series ‘The House of Paper’ who broke into the Spanish Mint wearing red uniforms and white masks.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.