crime

Thieves drop Y10 mil while fleeing from pachinko heist

24 Comments

Two thieves robbed a pachinko parlor of 20 million yen, but half of that fell out of their bag as they were fleeing the scene of the crime in Kitakyushu City, police said Sunday.

According to police, two men approached the booth where prizes are redeemed for cash at about 7:30 p.m. Saturday. They threatened the 30-year-old employee with a knife and demanded he put money in a bag, TV Asahi reported.

Witnesses said that as the two men were leaving, several bundles of bank notes fell out of the bag, TV Asahi reported. Police said the dropped amount was 10 million yen and that the pair got away with another 10 million yen.

Police said there were about 400 people in the place at the time. The employee suffered a cut to his right arm.

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24 Comments
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This sounds like it might be an inside job.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

What makes you say that? House? What I want to know is what happened to the other 10mil was it taken by public or collected again?

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

This sounds like it might be an inside job.

Why?

These places typically have security cameras all over the place so odds are the police will not have all that hard of a time catching them. You would have to be seriously desperate to even try to rob one of these places.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

You would have to be seriously desperate to even try to rob one of these places.

Sorry wanted to add....or really, really, really, dumb.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

...as the two men were leaving the pachinko parlor....

Just as pharmacies are never attached to clinics, pachinko "ka-ching!" centers are never attached to the actual parlor They were probably running down some alley.

At least they escaped with at least some of their balls.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

At least they escaped with at least some of their balls

I see what you did there.

I really have no sympathy for the parlor that was robbed, but I doubt it would take even the Keystones a long time to find these guys.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

dropped half the loot = fail

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

probably pay not to play pachinko there for a few days - the parlour will probably be trying to make back what they lost, shouldn't take too long!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Too many comments to make and no one would like what I have to say. Another knife incident, not surprising.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

There is something wrong in the article. First it says they robbed the exchange booth. Then it talked about the number of people in the pachi parlour. But that number is not relevant at all, because the exchange booth is never in the actual pachinko parlour.

Look around in your neighbourhood. The exchange place is always in a separate building, usually somewhere around the corner. And for legal reasons it has to be... remember, gambling is not legal in Japan.

I think the article writer mixed something up.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

remember, gambling is not legal in Japan.

Yes it is legal in controlled circumstances, keiba (horse racing) keirin, (bicycle races) and motor boat races.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

most pachinko places are korean owed in Kitakyushu. I should know, I live here. Probably former customers did this and I bet the owners suspect who.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

@ WilliB - The one (and only) time I played pachinko here, the payout desk was no more than 10 paces from the nearest machine - in the very same smoky building. Yes, gambling - and prostitution mind you - are "illegal" in japan. They are also among the most popular japanese hobbies and industries!

Hope they nab these theives.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Gees! Most of the pachinko parlors I've seen have very secure payout booths with bars and money draws like a cash exchanges or a bank. Guess this one was a bit old fashioned and didn't have strict security measures, but you can bet they will have by the end if next week. Pachinko is the scourge of Japan and should be legalized or wiped out. The j-gov take no revenue from pachinko and most of the cash goes to Korean sindicates. Hello??? Failing economy??? Not enough cash in the country? Wake the truck up Japan! Do you have any idea how much of Naoki Average's disposable income is going to Korea through pachinko Parlors? Obviously not!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

im sure the owners of these fine establishments are not folks to be messed with so i agree that they are either stupid or have some inside info as to when to strike...and how to avoid getting beaten up later. dropping half the loot just makes them the joke of the town so making it easier to find the infamous gang....theyd probably make more money selling the video of their botched attempt

one comment suggested the exchange booth was inside the parlour, i think he may be confusing the counter that counts the balls and gives out the prizes with the little cash exchange booth outside.....

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Don't the Yakuza run these places? I think robbing a Pachinko palace is a really stupid thing to do.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Thunderbird2 - No! The yakuza do not run pachinko! It is run by Korean crime sindicates. Pachinko has recently been banned in Korea and has spawned a new pachinko tourism industry from Korea.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

I confess if I found ten million yen dropped from a botched robbery I would stuff it in my pants and run. It would smell like cigarette smoke from pachinko but I would be happy to have it.

Then I would get caught... heheh

0 ( +2 / -2 )

@House Atreides This sounds like it might be an inside job.

Those prize booths are usually on the outside :p

0 ( +1 / -1 )

most are small booths with a window, don't know how you would force the guy. Sounds like he got into the booth. 10 million yen tax free certainly would be a nice bonus!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

funny story - I would like to which exact city ? As far as I know Kita Kyshu is made up of three cities in in inverted commas - Kokura , Moji and the other one the name of which I forget right now. My wife came back from Kokura recently and said the place (her hometown) is crawling with the keystones

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

@safinator

Five towns: Kokura, Moji, Wakamatsu, Tobata and Yahata. Every one crawling with cops and Yakuza.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I wish more people would rob all those horrible, stinky, noisy, pachinko parlours that do local communities no good at all. There are way too many of them, local authourities should be curbing their development not rubber stamping it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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