HOKKAIDO (TR) – Security camera footage captured a thief burglarzing a coin-operated change machine at a laundromat in Sapporo City last month.
Using a crowbar, the thief pried the machine open and stole the cash inside early one morning in late February. Police are hunting for the perpetrator, who is likely behind other similar crimes, reports Fuji News Network (Mar. 14).
At around 3 a.m. on February 26, the thief, dressed all in black, is shown putting his backpack down inside the laundromat.
In the footage, the thief thrusts a crowbar into the machine and starts to forcefully pry it open. After about five minutes of struggling, including having one of his shoes fall off, he clearly becomes anxious.
However, he eventually hits the jackpot and stuffs cash from the machine into his backpack. He then flees.
“Got carried away”
The owner told the network that he must outlay about 1 million yen for a new machine. “I never thought it would happen to me like this,” he said.
According to the police, there have been at least three other crimes whereby the thief used the same method.
“[The perpetrator] got carried away following success at the first store, so [he’s] cracking open more machines at other stores. These types of incidents will continue to escalate, so I hope they are caught soon,” the owner said.
