4 unacquainted teens investigated over Tokyo Rolex store robbery

"dark part-time work."

Yep have even started seeing posters warning students at a prestigious university not to undertake part-time work. I kid you not.

Everyone wants easy money, but they forget that easy money is very expensive in the end.

Hilarious. Potential material for a comedy movie.

With surveillance cameras everywhere, breaking into a high-end watch shop in Ginza is a one way ticket to prison. I suppose the arrested teens weren’t doing well at school. Smart kids would have tried to swindle money electronically using the Internet.

Another suspect in the robbery, which took place at around 6:15 p.m. on Monday, may still be at large, the sources said, after receiving eyewitness information that five people were spotted fleeing the scene of the crime.

No kidding! Four were video taped in the store, and another was driving the van! One was "fleeing" as the driver!

4 unacquainted teens

Can't decide whether or not to call three of them adults?

The four were arrested Monday after being spotted near a minivan apparently used to flee from Quark Ginza 888, where more than 100 wristwatches are believed to have been stolen earlier that day. Their arrest was not due to the robbery but for suspected trespassing in a nearby apartment building in Tokyo's Minato Ward during their escape.

No kidding! Their faces were masked during the robbery and the cops have no evidence, as of yet, directly connecting them to the actual crime, but they have to have a reason to detain them "officially", otherwise they would be kept for questioning, without suspicion of any crime. This way they can hold them, and add additional charges as warranted. (Meaning they will charge them with more, AFTER one starts confessing!)

The Metropolitan Police Department have also confiscated smartphones owned by two of the four and are analyzing it to find out if the teens had been recruited for yami baito, literally meaning "dark part-time work."

One of them is talking, that's for sure.

Unacquainted? So they all suddenly decided to rob the watch store at exactly the same time? Who comes up with this nonsense?

Apparently, one guy arrested is also suspected of a similar robbery in Ueno last March.

The only way to escape after a robbery in Ginza, or any other areas with a street camera every 5 meters would be to have a real mastermind plan, and heading straight to Haneda to catch a flight. But anyway, this would end in being arrested overseas, which happened to some foreigners about ten years ago. Only high profile guys, such as Carlos Ghosn, are not handed back.

Those kids are not Nobel Prizes and watched too many movies.

Unacquainted? So they all suddenly decided to rob the watch store at exactly the same time? Who comes up with this nonsense?

They probably didn't know each other before the robbery. There is a crime boss of some sort who hired them and organized the operation.

Maybe this incident was a: What you do not do when robbing a Rolex Watch Shop in Ginza?

A large white 'minivan', we could see on the news.

As DT says. Although one bag with 35 watches was dropped, they will have handed over (most of) the goods which are now on their way out of the country. It's a new pattern, to offer crime jobs to unrelated strangers, assuring them that if they follow the instructions to the letter they will not get caught. One site even tells people that the primary investigating cops have already been paid off to purposely lose track of them.

I was supposed to go to Quark this weekend - bummer. When I saw the video, I knew it was not the Rolex store but the used luxury watch store.

"I thought there was a shooting of a movie. I initially could not believe it was an incident," said a 35-year-old Tokyo man, who witnessed the masked individuals ransacking the store despite some people watching them from outside.

Understandable…; Japan is still (relatively) safe when compared to The West.

..

Today  08:02 am JST “ Unacquainted? So they all suddenly decided to rob the watch store at exactly the same time? Who comes up with this nonsense? “

Today  08:14 am JST

Unacquainted? So they all suddenly decided to rob the watch store at exactly the same time? Who comes up with this nonsense?

“ They probably didn't know each other before the robbery. There is a crime boss of some sort who hired them and organized the operation. “

Maybe…;

(but it wouldn’t be the first time in history that a group of strangers decides to plan and execute a heist).

Do not pass Go, do not collect $200... Putzes.

I suppose the arrested teens weren’t doing well at school. Smart kids would have tried to swindle money electronically using the Internet.

Hell of an assumption as only one was actually IN high school, the 16 year old wasnt, and the two 19 year old men were past school age.

This reminds me of the movie 1968 Thomas Crown Affair, actor is Steve Mcqueen. The story is very rich Thomas plotted banks robbery. He hired guys to rob banks, but those guys really don't know each other. They robbed daytime just like the 4 unacquainted boys in Ginza. Those guys are found and arrested later. Thomas got multi-millions of dollars finally. The movie is something like that.

the teens had been recruited for yami baito, literally meaning "dark part-time work."

Shouldn't the police be focusing on the "recruitment agency" instead of focusing on the trespassing, which is a very minor offense.

The sources said the high school senior denied trespassing in the apartment building, while the other three admitted doing so.

Their arrest was not due to the robbery but for suspected trespassing in a nearby apartment building in Tokyo's Minato Ward during their escape.

Not due tot he robbery, but "during their escape". Either they have or they have not escaped. If they have escaped, the only meaning implied is escape from the heist, so they consider them already the culprits but police tell another strange reason for arresting them. Quite non-sense.

They found and seized a black bag near the minivan containing around 30 watches and are confirming whether the watches are those stolen from the specialty store, the sources said.

Sherlock in action...maybe somebody lost his bag of Rolex collections and will come to fetch them at the nearest koban ? Lol

Anyway, to lose track of them seems impossible nowadays.

Crime in Japan is still very low and general violence is very very rare.

Criminal masterminds they are not! In the video they were walking around casually, seemed unsure of what to get.....a woman kept on closing the door to the shop.....anyone with a bit of oomph could easily have smashed at least 1 of them and restrained him till the cops came

So, there are two new technologies that facilitate this type of crime; one is called 'The Internet', and the other (which runs on 'The Internet') is called 'social media'. Social media is an online platform that enables communication and networking among individuals and groups.

If you go to Google search and type 'what is social media and how can it be used in crime?' you can learn more.

Darn, how long has this been a thing?

Unacquainted? So they all suddenly decided to rob the watch store at exactly the same time? Who comes up with this nonsense?

A slew of robberies and home invasions (many have been reported here in the past several months, especially the home invasions). It seems they all use this "unacquainted" method, and was the reason those Japanese guys were deported from the Philippines prison to Japan a few weeks ago (they were supposed ring-leaders operating from the jail). It goes like this:

An ad is put online for a normal-looking part-time job. Big money, temp work anyone can do (maybe help move some boxes). Usually it is contact through phone or text only, and the job is off-site somewhere (so no connected address).

Lets say "Kenji-san" applies for the job. He shows up, does it, gets paid, and goes home. At this time the job boss gets Kenji's personal info (full name, home address, maybe even his MyNumber, etc)

Perhaps a couple more jobs come through, sometimes they may even become a bit grey as far as legality (this is all a test of Kenji's willingness and/or ability).

At some point a different person shows up at Kenji's house. He's gruff and tough. He tells Kenji's Mom, "Hey, be sure Kenji comes in to work tomorrow." This may happen more than once.

Kenji gets freaked out, goes to "work" since he's now scared of the consequences if he doesn't, and next think you know he's an unwilling Mr. Pink in the Japanese version of Reservoir Dogs.

Because of their ages, they’ll just get a slap on the wrist. But they deserve some kind of punishment much more severe.

Still no information on their motives, their social standing etc?

is it some kind of confidential information.

i dont need the details but the general information. Does it take so much time to disclose important imformation - that is WHY did they do it?

yeah they treated me like dirt when I came in with an old 70s submarina watch that I found in my dad’s things, They wouldn’t repair it nor offer any help just buy a newby please. I’ll get it fixed up when I get back home soon and jave his piece tickin’ away once again.

AND, that's probably why they got caught. I remember back in the day when my friends and I used to...nevermind. The point is, we were all on the same page.

The theory of them being recruited in the same way as the previous crimes in houses seems to be correct.

"I thought there was a shooting of a movie. I initially could not believe it was an incident," said a 35-year-old Tokyo man, who witnessed the masked individuals ransacking the store despite some people watching them from outside.

Complete lack of awareness, if this continues people are going to get involved in violent crimes just because their default response to seeing something so outrageous is that it must be fiction.

Unacquainted, when wearing the same clothes , masks , tools and came as well flew in one and the same car? Who believes that? Anyway, not so much will happen to them. They are minors, changed their clothes afterwards and didn’t have the stolen watches with them when arrested. I guess nowadays they get a very fortunate deal and not only are soon free but even get a little hidden percentage bonus if only they tell where the stolen things are and promise not to do again every week. You know, a certified bad and poor childhood, a second chance in society instead punishment, not fully mentally developed at 16, 18, 19 and all such… They will leave the case significantly in plus.

My parents told me that finding a good friend was a hard thing to do, and that its easy to find trouble but hard as hell to get out of.

@one_consciousness There is ONLY one reason to facilitate this type of crime; STUPIDITY!!! Stupid does Stupid!!!

Mr KiplingToday 08:02 am JST

Unacquainted? So they all suddenly decided to rob the watch store at exactly the same time? Who comes up with this nonsense?

So, there are two new technologies that facilitate this type of crime; one is called 'The Internet', and the other (which runs on 'The Internet') is called 'social media'. Social media is an online platform that enables communication and networking among individuals and groups.

If you go to Google search and type 'what is social media and how can it be used in crime?' you can learn more.

The US press has a better explanation of the crime than J-T. The thieves were recruited on line. It is called Yami-Baito for part time black crime. The gangs take advantage of desperate young people seeking money, lure them in then use threats, often threats of retribution against family members, to keep them in line. You can read a full description here.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ginza-tokyo-robbery-rolex-watch-store-yami-baito-teens-exploited-for-crime/

Maybe…;

(but it wouldn’t be the first time in history that a group of strangers decides to plan and execute a heist).

Indeed, but once they meet to make a plan, then they are acquainted. It's poor English and probably should have said "previously unacquainted."