Japan: Moped-driving thief snatches 50 pairs of glasses right off people's faces

A thief in Japan came up with a strange method to steal people's glasses. Driving a moped, he drove through the streets and snatched them right off people's faces. Mainichi reported that he managed to drive away with 50 pairs of glasses that were found at his home in Shinjuku. Police believe the 49-year-old suspect might be involved in other similar cases. 

The suspect had a modus operandi that is hard to believe. He would stop people on some pretext and then snatch their glasses before riding away. On September 2 late evening, he did something similar when he approached a man in his 20s from behind. He stopped him to ask for directions to the nearest station. After the man halted to talk to him, he stole his glasses, the police said.

The man reported the theft to the police. The suspect was later arrested from a house in Shinjuku, a ward in the western part of central Tokyo, following another snatch-and-run robbery. Several more pairs of glasses were discovered upon searching the premises.

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The man has yet to speak up on the robberies, and the police are still working to ascertain if he worked elsewhere.

Moped thief shocks people on social media

However, the theft of glasses on mopeds has planted fear in people's minds who dread that such robberies might take off with thieves stealing even more expensive stuff. A user wrote on social media, “Today it’s glasses, next week could be mobile phones."

Notably, electric scooters and mopeds have become quite popular in Japan. News outlet Mainichi reported that this has led to an uptick in the number of accidents and traffic offences committed in the country.

As per Japan Today, electric scooters were booked for 25,156 traffic violations between July 2023 and June this year, as per the National Police Agency. A change in Japan’s Road Traffic Act in July last year allowed people aged 16 and over to ride electric scooters without a driver’s licence.