TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police are searching for two men who broke into a store in Shinjuku Ward on Saturday and robbed the manager of approximately 1.7 million yen in cash and other items, reports TV Asahi (Mar. 15).
At shortly before 10 p.m., the two men posed as customers and entered the mobile phone buyback and sales store located on the third floor of a building along Okubo-dori.
The two men then punched the store manager, a man in his 40s of foreign nationality who was alone in the store, in the face and threatened him with what appeared to be a handgun. One of then said, “Don’t move.”
The pair then tied up the manager using duct tape they had brought with them and a USB cable they found in the store. They then stole approximately 1.7 million yen in cash and dozens of smartphones and fled on foot towards JR Okubo Station.
The store manager, who was alone in the store at the time, sustained injuries, including abrasions to his right hand.
Another man who witnessed the store manager emerging outside on his own while still tied up called police.
Based on security camera footage, the pair who fled are believed to be Japanese, aged in their 20s or 30s. One stands approximately 165 centimeters tall and has a slender build. The other has a heavier build and stands approximately 170 centimeters tall.
Police are searching for the pair on suspicion of robbery resulting in injury.
