4 Shops Raided in Japan for Allegedly Buying Stolen Cables

Jiji Press

18:02 JST, November 18, 2024

Tokyo (Jiji Press)—Tokyo police Monday raided four metal shops in the eastern prefectures of Tochigi and Ibaraki for allegedly buying copper cables stolen by a group of Thai thieves, knowing they were stolen goods.

By October, Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department had arrested seven members of a Thai theft ring for stealing copper cables from solar power plants in the village of Tsumagoi, Gunma Prefecture, near Tochigi and Ibaraki, and the town of Hinode, western Tokyo.

According to the MPD, the group was involved in more than 100 cases of copper cable theft, in which most of the cables were sold to the four shops. The group is believed to have sold copper cables at least 80 times between February and June, earning a total of ¥46 million .

In interrogation, one of the members made a remark to the effect that the four shops bought copper cables knowing that they had been stolen, according to police sources.

The secondhand goods business law does not oblige dealers to check the identification of their transaction partners or keep transaction records with regard to severed copper cables.

For this reason, it is believed that some metal shops buy copper cables without checking the identities of sellers despite being aware that the cables were stolen.

“We need to eliminate malicious dealers using legal loopholes,” a senior investigative source said.

Copper prices have soared, because production fell during the COVID-19 pandemic while supplies declined due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This led to a surge in cases of theft of copper cables from solar power plants mainly in the Kanto eastern region.

There were 4,161 cases of such theft in the first half of this year alone, compared with 5,361 cases for the whole of last year. Foreigners accounted for more than 60 pct of those arrested or subjected to other enforcement actions for suspected involvement in such cases, according to the MPD.