TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested three male youths who are suspected of carrying out thefts in Nerima Ward.
“I did it for money to buy marijuana,” one youth told police, according to NHK (April 27). “We are like a theft ring for marijuana.”
On March 9, the trio allegedly stole bag containing a game machine and software belonging to a 58-year-old man from a bench at Hikarigaoka Park.
According to police, the youths — aged 18 and 19 — include at least one high school student and a part-time employee.
The suspects along with accomplices are believed to have carried out similar crimes in and around the park on around 20 occasions.
They referred to the stolen merchandise as “rinji,” meaning provisional. The goods were then converted to cash at a second hand store, police said.