TOKUSHIMA (TR) – Police in Tokushima City have arrested a 73-year-old woman caught red-handed picking the pocket of a spectator at the famous Awa Odori dance festival, reports Kansai TV (Aug. 15).
The unemployed resident of Muko City, Kyoto Prefecture, was taken into custody at around 7:20 p.m. on August 14. She is accused of stealing a wallet containing 8,046 yen in cash from the pouch of a woman in her 20s in the city’s Minami-Uchimachi area.
The suspect’s luck ran out when plainclothes investigators from the Osaka Prefectural Police — brought in as reinforcements specifically to crack down on pickpockets during the festival — witnessed the crime taking place and alerted the victim.
Upon her arrest, the elderly woman readily admitted to the allegations. “There is no doubt that I stole a wallet by picking the bag of an Awa Odori spectator,” she told police.
Following a search, officers discovered the suspect was in possession of multiple other wallets. Police believe it is highly likely the woman traveled to Tokushima with the sole intent of targeting festival-goers and are currently investigating her involvement in further crimes.
