OSAKA (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police are investigating a brazen smash-and-grab robbery at a luxury goods store in Sakai City, where a masked gang made off with nearly 10 million yen in high-end merchandise in under a minute, reports Nippon News Network (June 6).
Security camera footage captured the chaos at approximately 3:30 a.m. on May 10. Three hooded individuals stormed the closed store, using objects resembling golf clubs to shatter glass showcases. They frantically scooped up luxury watches and other branded items before fleeing.
The lightning-fast heist lasted less than 60 seconds. According to the store and local police, the thieves stole 9.5 million yen worth of merchandise and severely damaged an additional 10 million yen in inventory, rendering the scratched items unsellable as new.
Exterior cameras captured the suspects exiting a vehicle just before the raid, and later showed the car being moved to the rear of the building, indicating a fourth accomplice acted as a getaway driver.
In a brazen follow-up, the same shop was targeted again just 20 days later on the 30th. Security footage showed a suspect dressed in black with a concealed face hesitating at the entrance before smashing the glass door with a crowbar-like tool.
However, unlike the first raid, the store had been cleared of inventory. The suspect quickly realized there was nothing left to steal and fled the scene empty-handed.
Following the back-to-back break-ins, the business has suspended its physical storefront operations and shifted entirely to online sales.
“I never thought something that felt like someone else’s problem would happen to me. I’m truly terrified and full of disbelief,” the store manager said.
The targeted attacks in Sakai do not appear to be isolated. Since February, Osaka Prefecture has recorded approximately 60 thefts featuring a similar modus operandi.
Investigators strongly suspect the string of robberies is the work of a tokuryu ring, whose members anonymously give and receive orders via smartphone apps. Such crime syndicates recruit disposable perpetrators for a “high-paying part-time job” (often referred to as yami-baito, or “dark job”).
Police are continuing their investigation to dismantle the broader network.
