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Tokyo cops nab man suspected in 30 purse-snatching incidents

Hironobu Watanabe
Hironobu Watanabe

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 40-year-old man suspected in dozens of purse-snatching incidents in the metropolis, reports TBS News (Oct. 11).

On September 27, Hironobu Watanabe, a self-described company employee, is alleged to have used a white motorcycle to come up from behind a woman, 64, pedaling a bicycle on a road in Adachi Ward and steal her handbag containing 23,000 yen in cash and a mobile phone from the basket.

Watanabe, who has been charged with robbery, admits to the allegations. “I wanted money,” the suspect is quoted by police.

Watanabe became a person of interest following the examination of security camera footage.

Police are investigating the suspect’s possible involvement in around 30 similar robberies that have taken place in Saitama and Chiba prefectures and Tokyo since May in which the perpetrator used a white motorcycle, according to TV Asahi (Oct. 11).