TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested 41-year-old man suspected in about 100 thefts of bags on the Chuo Line, reports TV Asahi (Mar. 27).
At around 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, Tomoharu Yoshida allegedly snatched the bag of a man, a 22-year-old university student, inside a train of the line stopped at Tokyo Station.
Yoshida, who has been charged with theft, denies the allegations. “I was delivering the bag,” the suspect is quoted by police.
Prior to the arrest of the suspect, an officer on patrol for pickpockets ahead of the season for hanami, or cherry blossom-viewing, spotted Yoshida, who was barefoot, and gave chase after he attempted to flee. The suspect was subsequently apprehended by the officer at a ticket gate.
Police are now investigating whether Yoshida is behind the approximately 100 similar thefts that have taken place inside carriages of the Chuo Line this year.