4 Shops Raided in Japan for Allegedly Buying Stolen Cables

Tokyo, Nov. 18 (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 yen.

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.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]