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Alleged Thieves Named Themselves After Conan Anime (Updated)

On Wednesday, the Japanese police's juvenile crimes division arrested a 19-year-old pachinko parlor worker and two 16-year-old boys from Tokyo's Izu Ōshima island for allegedly breaking into a store for cash early on the morning of July 27. According to the police, the three Ōshima Town residents called themselves the "Kaitō Kids of Ōshima," after the phantom thief that appears in the Detective Conan (Case Closed) anime.

The three suspects allegedly committed a total of 20 burglaries, vehicular theft, theft of monetary offerings at shrines, and other crimes at night since last December. The authorities said that the suspects admitted, "We did it for the sense of thrill. We enjoyed the fear and sense of accomplishment." The suspects allegedly added that there is not a lot of things to do for fun on the island, and that they spent the stolen cash on food and drinks. The authorities added that the total haul from the crimes was over 680,000 yen (about US$8,100).

According to the juvenile crimes division, the three suspects had been in high school together, and the older suspect had been in the "Lupin Corps," a gang of boy thieves that was exposed in 2008. The two younger suspects were expelled from their school after their arrests.

The Kaitō Kid character has not only appeared in the Detective Conan anime franchise, but also in his own Magic Kaito anime and manga.

Source: Jiji Press

Update: More information added from the Mainichi Shimbun paper.

Image © Gōshō Aoyama/Shogakukan, Magic Kaito Production Committee