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3 purse-snatching incidents reported in Saitama over 10-minute period

Saitama police
Saitama police are seeking the perpetrator behind three bag-snatching incidents in Saitama City’s Omiya Ward on Saturday
SAITAMA (TR) – Saitama Prefetural Police suspect the same person was behind three purse-snatching incidents that took place in Saitama City within a 10-minute period on Saturday, reports TBS News (Nov. 19).

At about 11:30 p.m., a person dressed all in black used a motorcycle to come up from behind a 29-year-old woman as she bicycled home in Omiya Ward and steal her purse, which contained about 50,000 yen in cash.

The empty bag was found about 50 meters away, police said. The woman was not hurt in the incident.

Two similar cases, involving women aged 19 and 33, took place over the preceding 10-minute period, police said. The scenes of those crimes were within a 1.5-kilometer radius of the case involving the 29-year-old woman.

About 80,000 yen in cash was lost collectively in the three cases, police said. The victims in the first two cases also described the perpetrator as wearing all-black clothing.

Given the similarities in the cases and the timings, police suspect the same person carried out all three incidents.