Press "Enter" to skip to content

Wakayama cops: Man with hammer steals ¥40 million in jewels from home

A man broke into a residence using a hammer and stole jewelry (TV Asahi)
A man broke into a residence using a hammer and stole jewelry (TV Asahi)

WAKAMA (TR) – A man broke into a residence in Tanabe City using a hammer and stole jewelry worth 40 million yen, police said on Sunday.

Police arrested Hiroki Sasaki, 29, on suspicion of breaking into the residence of a 75-year-old man at around 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nippon News Network reports (Feb. 19).

An officer responding to a neighbor’s emergency call arrived to find Sasaki holding a jewelry box containing a watch and jewelry, and apprehended him at a nearby parking lot, police said.

The elderly resident told TV Asahi (Feb. 19) that Sasaki “smashed up my door and came in. He said ‘money, gimme money,’ but I told him I didn’t have any.”

Sasaki admitted to the charges, telling police he chose the home because the owner was the victim of another robbery in 2015, where he was robbed of precious metals worth some 54 million yen.