IBARAKI (TR) – Police here have arrested a 26-year-old Sri Lankan national after he allegedly stripped a vacant residence of its air conditioning and water heating equipment.
The suspect is believed to have been behind a string of burglaries in Tsuchiura City over the past year, reports TBS News (June 1).
Kaldurage Sanju Tharuka Madushan, an unemployed resident of the town of Ami, is accused of breaking into an unoccupied house in Tsuchiura between December of last year and March of this year.
According to police, Kaldurage made off with five indoor air conditioning units, four outdoor compressor units, and a water heater. The stolen appliances are valued at approximately 1.2 million yen.
Upon his arrest on suspicion of trespassing and theft, the suspect completely denied the allegations, telling investigators, “I have absolutely no memory of this.”
Kaldurage was already in custody prior to this latest charge, having been arrested and indicted in April for illegally overstaying his visa.
Investigators are currently looking into his potential involvement in a broader string of burglaries. The Tsuchiura Police Station reported 32 similar thefts targeting vacant homes within its jurisdiction last year, with an explosive surge of 23 additional cases occurring between January and April of this year alone.
