TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police are hunting for multiple suspects after a brazen overnight break-in at a safe deposit box facility in Chuo Ward.
The location has been targeted by thieves twice now in just over a month, reports NHK (Aug. 10).
At approximately 1:30 a.m. on Monday, a security company dialed police to report that multiple sensors had detected an anomaly at a building in the Shintomi district.
Rushing to the scene, officers found the glass at the building’s entrance completely shattered. Inside, multiple safe deposit boxes on the first floor had been violently pried open with what appeared to be crowbars.
Security camera footage captured a group of individuals entering and exiting the vault area before fleeing into the night. No one was present on the floor at the time, and no injuries were reported.
Tracking the fugitives
Tokyo police suspect cash and valuables were looted and is currently tracking the whereabouts of the fugitives. Investigators are heavily scrutinizing the link between this break-in and an almost identical heist at the same facility on the 6th of last month, in which cash and gold were reportedly stolen.
The facility is located in a dense office district just over 250 meters from Hatchobori Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line.
The repeat offenses have left patrons questioning the facility’s safety protocols.
“I didn’t want to keep expensive items at home, so I entrusted my precious metals and luxury watches to this facility because I thought their security was solid,” said a company executive in his 40s. “The management company told me my block of boxes was hit, and I’m terrified my things have been stolen. I want to know what kind of security measures they even took after last month’s break-in.”
A female business owner in her 30s, who has stored corporate documents at the facility for years, was summoned by management to retrieve her items following the raid.
“I had no idea there was a robbery last month,” she said. “If this kind of damage is going to keep happening, it’s a huge problem. From now on, I’ll just keep my documents at the office.”
