Shocking moment Japanese teenagers rob Rolex store after being recruited for crime online in sinister new trend known as ‘dark gigs’
- Masked teenagers stole dozens of Rolexes before Tokyo police caught them
- ‘Yami baito’ or ‘dark gigs’ trend in Japan sees youngsters hired to commit crimes
Video taken by a passerby shows the shocking moment brazen robbers smash up a high-end watch store and steal dozens of Rolexes – before it was revealed that they were teenage boys, most likely recruited online.
The gang of three masked and hooded boys snatched 70 Rolexes from the shop in broad daylight, according to reports, which were worth a staggering £1.5million.
The masked young men carried out the raid at luxury watch shop Quark in Tokyo’s Ginza district, smashing up showcases after bursting into the store in the early evening on Sunday.
The smash and grab took place in full view of bewildered shoppers, with some seen walking past and merely glancing at the chaotic scene while others tried to film and even stop the robbers.
The botched robbery bears all the hallmarks of the ‘yami baito’ or ‘dark gigs’ trend in Japan, which sees youngsters hired online to carry out the bidding of criminal masterminds.
The gang of three masked and hooded boys reportedly took 70 Rolexes from the high-end store
A string of robberies and at least one murder have been attributed to such groups, The Times reports, which are usually built and communicated with through apps like Telegram.
In this instance, the bold jewellery heist was caught on camera, and shows the seemingly amateur thieves working slowly and clumsily.
While no customers appeared to have been in the shop at the time, staff were said to have been terrified as the heist took place.
The robbers made their way to a getaway vehicle after the raid, a hired van with number plates from a stolen car.
Police were able to track them down within minutes as they remained just a few yards away from the crime scene.
The boys all came from the nearby city of Yokohama, but told police that they did not know one another and had met for the first time on the ‘job’.
Many of those recruited into crime online are unknown to each other in the growing ‘dark gigs’ trend.
Criminal groups known as ‘hangure’ or ‘quasi-delinquents’ are popping up all over Japan amid a police crackdown on the traditional yakuza gangs.
The smash and grab took place in full view of bewildered shoppers, with some seen walking past and merely glancing at the chaotic scene
The mafia groups, which previously controlled the drugs and sex trades across Japanese cities, have been decimated by authorities over the past decade.
But this has left space for a new generation of mobsters, who have been using the internet for mass recruitment.
They are promised ‘high rewards’ by yami baito ads, which say ‘beginners’ are welcome to join to score some ‘fast cash’.
Young people, often from poor backgrounds, guarantee their loyalty to bosses through offering personal details like their parents’ names and addresses to gangsters.
By outsourcing scams in this way, criminal kingpins, who may be based outside of Japan, are able to reap the benefits of the crime without facing the consequences.
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