TOKYO (TR) – A 30-year-old man has been arrested after allegedly stealing a high-end Audemars Piguet timepiece from a shop in Nakano Wardd, claiming he was so taken by his own reflection while wearing the watch that he couldn’t help but walk out with it.
Toshiya Amacon Markris, who describes himself as unemployed, was taken into custody in Nagoya on Wednesday. He is accused of stealing the luxury watch, valued at approximately 46 million yen, on the night of October 29.
According to Tokyo police, Amakon-Markulis entered the store in Nakano Broadway under the guise of a customer and requested to try on the timepiece. Once the watch was on his wrist, he bolted from the shop, clutching his arm against his body to keep the watch secure as he fled.
When confronted by investigators, the suspect admitted to the theft but insisted it was not a premeditated crime.
“I looked at myself in the mirror wearing the watch and fell in love with how I looked,” he reportedly told police. “Before I knew it, I had walked out of the store.”
The suspect managed to evade authorities for nearly two weeks, allegedly boarding a Shinkansen train at Tokyo Station to head west immediately following the heist.
On November 1 — three days after the theft — the store received a mysterious package via courier containing the stolen watch, wrapped in a handkerchief, accompanied by an apology letter. Amakon-Markulis admitted to sending the package back, though he used a fake name and return address to avoid detection.
“I held onto the watch for a while, but I realized it didn’t belong to me,” he told police. “I decided it had to be returned to the store.”
Police apprehended the suspect on the morning of November 11 as he emerged from an apartment complex in Nagoya. He was transported back to Tokyo under police escort the same day.
Investigators are treating the case as a solo act and are continuing to probe the suspect’s movements following the daring daylight robbery.
