Thieves make off with 100 cell phones in Saitama

They'll probably have serial numbers anyway, right?

I wonder what kind of crappy phones they bagged. At 50,000 or so yen each on average, I guess they couldn't have been iPhones....?

forced open with an instrument similar to a crowbar.

The quotes just get better over time!!

How did they miss nicking the in-store cameras?

"We are monitoring you on our instruments, we've got you on a tuba at the moment...."

50,000 per cellphone?? What is this? Insurance padding by NTT? Or were they gold-plated?

"similar to a crowbar"? A jemmy? They're the same thing. I suppose a stevedore's bale hook is fairly similar. Hmm I wonder what it could have been.

How would the thieves benefit from this? I would think that NTT would be able to shut them off based on their serial numbers and make the phones useless here.

Even if these people wanted to send them overseas (just an idea) it seems like a lot of work with a huge downside if caught.

"similar to a crowbar"? A jemmy? They're the same thing. I suppose a stevedore's bale hook is fairly similar. Hmm I wonder what it could have been.

Possibly a 'YALE' key???

I'm stuck in Saitama, come and pick me up.

What is similar to a crow bar? A piece of steel with a bent end?

The crooks of today. They steal mobile phones,cars,motorbikes,bicycles and anything else in the shops.

I think it may better to make plenty of phones,cars,motorbikes,bicycles with lower price and under one lower price brand.

This way these crooks will only steal expensive foreign brand makes or expensive local brand makes.

Crime will go down if even crooks can afford these lower price brand of mobile phones,cars,motorbikes,bicycles and other goodies.

High price brands encourage more stealing by crooks,and crooks love to steal high price brands. Capitalism needs to fight crooks in new innovative ways.

A low price brand whatever, as long as it does it job,it serves its purpose .In our brand status world, people need to come up with new ways,ideas to make the system work and prevent stealing.

These phones are probably going to wind up in a local electronic shop in mainland china or hongkong unlocked and ready to be used.

The same guy who stole 43 knives?!! Turn them all on at the same time and you have a portable microwave...

Now I'm almost positive this thief is a professional chef. What's the crowbar used for in a kitchen?

front door had been forced open with an instrument similar to a crowbar.

and they stuck the phones in a bag with an instrument similar to a pair of hands.

I think it may better to make plenty of phones,cars,motorbikes,bicycles with lower price and under one lower price brand.

A lower priced cell phone would a calculator and a note pad strapped onto a walkie-talkie... nnnnnnah, I'd rather pay more and go digital.

Making stuff affordable to criminals won't stop them from stealing, many people shoplift just because they can get away with it. If stuff becomes worth less they'll just steal more of them to compensate.

They took exactly 100, not 99, not 101, but 100!

That's a little odd!

50,000 per cellphone is a lot!

Hello jackseoul- Your comments,got me cracking up,thanks,nice reply.

Just a suggestion,not force on you, to not pay more. I am suggesting this to make thieves, not get more tempted to steal,especially when things are expensive. Not neccesary to invite more thieves and incur expensive phone loss woes.

rajakumar at 04:02 PM JST - 30th January

“people need to come up with new ways, ideas to make the system work and prevent stealing.”

Rajakumar, if people (the other ones, not the ones that steal) were to come up with really goods ways to stop stealing then the insurance companies would go out of business & when the insurance companies went out of business there would be that much less money being invested on the stock market & other companies wouldn’t be able to get the capital they need & they would have to lay people off or not employ people & with more unemployment more people (this time the kind that steal) would steal even cheaper things just to get by, because even cheap things would too dear for unemployed people. So, you see, stopping people (any people this time) from stealing really isn’t such a good idea. Society & the economy need these people.

They stole knives and the next is cell phone. What will they try sooner or later? It doesn't matter what security system you have, such thieves can take over any instruments installed for protection. Instead of having cameras as security in closed places, shot guns should be installed instead, and when you come inside: 'BOOM THIS IS NEW WORLD.'

BBLeo at 10:42 AM JST - 1st February

“shot guns should be installed instead, and when you come inside: 'BOOM THIS IS NEW WORLD.'”

Have you given any thought as to just how incredibly messy your shotgun idea is? Somebody is going to have to clean up what is left of the intruder, not a nice job. Why not go for something clean like toxic gas? Then the dead intruder’s body can just be dragged out & dumped with the rest of the rubbish.

As for these 100 very expensive mobiles, not even shotguns or toxic gas would have protected them.

When the boss wants to turn stock into cash but can’t sell the stock he can always take the unorthodox approach & get the insurance company to pay for them & make a little extra on the side by selling them very, very cheap to some Yak. Probably the boss will hand himself in to the police next week when his friendly Yak starts blackmailing him.

This is just a possibility you understand, not a recommendation to other business people.

Hello bishamonten, glad bloggin way at early morning hours. Read your comments here, I can agree with with your points.

But my points also can help society. Society can live with solutions in various ways as long as they are logically argued. I have no need to be rigid in my thinking.

rajakumar at 04:23 AM JST - 2nd February

Tonight (yes night) I am in Spain, so not bogging away in the early morning hours. I travel a great deal & it can get a bit tedious, hence my sometimes sarcastic posts, I sometimes just see the humorous side of things & feel a compulsive need to say something. There is no offence intended & I hope none is taken.

Though what I said about criminals having their place in the scheme of things is almost true, they have come to play such a major part in our societies & the way things are today we really do need them, they create the fear that creates the need for insurance & all that collected insurance money is used for investments.

That does not mean we should condone criminality, but to find a way of removing it wholesale for our societies would create chaos. And guess what, chaos would re-create greater forms of criminality.

Given the figures in the above article (assuming them to be true) I would have to go along with Grafton, this really looks more like an insurance job of the other kind, claiming the insurance when the goods haven’t been stolen at all.

Nice to meet you, now get some sleep, it’s not good for the brain to spend too much tome on the internet, just look at the state of some of the other posters here. You wouldn’t want to end up like that would you?

Sorry that should have been.

"too much time on the internet"

50,000 per cellphone is a lot!

Probably more like "fraudulently insured for 50,000 yen." When was the last time you bought a mobile for 50,000?