TOKUSHIMA (TR) – Tokushima Prefectural Police are hunting for a three-person gang caught on security cameras prying open the front door of a home in Tokushima City and making off with over 100 million yen in luxury goods, reports Nippon News Network (Oct. 13).
The brazen break-in occurred around 6:30 p.m. on August 31, while the resident and his family were away.
Security footage captured a vehicle stopping in front of the house. Three suspects, their faces concealed by hats and masks, emerged from the back seat and approached the entrance. Using a crowbar-like tool, they wedged it into the doorframe and forced the door open in just one minute before rushing inside.
“They shoved a crowbar in and forced it. There’s no way to defend against that. Even if you double-lock the door, they will just pry it open,” the male homeowner said.
Once inside, the gang systematically ransacked the property. “They pulled out every drawer in the house and dumped out all the contents. It wasn’t just ‘messy’ — it was far beyond that level,” the victim added.
Additional security footage showed the gang working as an efficient team to maximize their haul before authorities could arrive, with one suspect carrying items to the entrance and another loading them into the getaway car. The stolen items included luxury wristwatches and bags, pushing the estimated total loss past the 100 million yen mark.
Reflecting on the timing of the crime, the homeowner expressed dread over what could have happened. “If we had bumped into the perpetrators, we might have been killed. It’s chilling,” he said. He admitted he was caught completely off guard, previously assuming that such extreme home invasions were problems isolated to the Kanto region.
Police are now investigating the possibility that the break-in was orchestrated by a tokuryu syndicate, an anonymous crime ring whose members communicate with smartphone apps.
According to investigative sources, the suspects arrived in a vehicle with out-of-prefecture license plates and likely swapped the plates multiple times during their escape to evade capture.