SAITAMA (TR) – Saitama Prefectural Police have referred a former secondhand buyback shop employee to prosecutors on suspicion of embezzlement, with investigators now probing his suspected involvement in a violent heist where a clerk was bound with duct tape, reports Nippon News Network (Nov. 1).
Kazuya Taira, a former worker at the buyback store chain, was sent to prosecutors on Sunday on suspicion of embezzling 300,000 yen in cash from a branch located in Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture, where he worked this past September.
However, police suspect Taira’s crimes did not end there.
On October 29, a terrifying robbery took place at another chain location in the town of Nagatoro, Saitama Prefecture — a branch where Taira had previously been employed. During the incident, an on-duty employee had their hands and feet bound with adhesive tape before the culprit made off with approximately 1.5 million yen in cash.
According to investigators, Taira has hinted at his involvement in the Nagatoro robbery.
A subsequent search of the suspect’s residence uncovered a crowbar, rolls of adhesive tape, and a portion of the cash believed to have been stolen during the heist. Police are actively investigating the connection between the suspect and the violent robbery.
