TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a self-described “gun maniac” for allegedly possessing a cache of modified toy guns capable of firing live ammunition with lethal force, reports Nippon News Network (Sep. 11).
According to police, Kei Satsuba is accused of keeping 11 highly modified toy handguns and a stash of live ammunition at his residence in the Mizudocho area of Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, in April of this year.
Investigators believe Satsuba purchased foreign-made toy guns online and personally modified them to function as actual firearms.
The suspect is alleged to have possessed the following handguns and explosive materials at his home this past April:
・One modified revolver and three live rounds
・Two single-shot handguns
・One over-under handgun
・One modified semi-automatic handgun
・One modified revolver
・One firearm capable of firing metal projectiles
・26 molded gunpowder products
On the day of the discovery, the suspect is also suspected of possessing two revolvers, one modified single-shot pistol, and one quasi-air gun at a separate apartment complex in Mukonoso.
Upon his arrest on suspicion of violating the Swords and Firearms Control Law and the Explosives Control Act, the suspect fully admitted to the allegations.
“I bought them on the internet and modified and reinforced them myself,” Satsuba told investigators. “I made them because I was interested in the mechanical structure of real guns.”
