TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Wednesday announced the arrest of a 45-year-old male believed to be behind numerous purse-snatching incidents in the metropolis this year. The suspect has told police that he needed money for drugs, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Aug. 19).
At around 12:30 a.m. on May 22, Hiroshi Sometani is alleged to have used a scooter to approach a 28-year-old woman walking along a road in Nishi Nippori, Arakawa Ward and steal her handbag. The bag contained 6,000 yen in cash.
Since April, Sometani is believed to have been behind eight purse-snatching crimes in which the value of stolen property totaled 8.2 million yen. In one case, a bag stolen by the suspect contained a high-end wristwatch worth six million yen.
Sometani has admitted to the charges. “I stole the purses for money to buy stimulant drugs,” the suspect is quoted by police.