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Robbery Suspect Description Evokes Detective Conan Villain

A recent theft in Fukuoka has police on the look out for a man with long hair and a black hat. The description has internet gumshoes wondering if they already know the culprit, none other than Detective Conan's Gin.

The Black Organization officer is one of Conan's most ruthless opponents and the internet is abuzz that the character is the one behind the robbery. On Monday, the suspect and his two accomplices robbed a man of 384 million yen (US$3.5 million) in cash that he had just withdrawn in the parking lot of the Mizuho Bank Fukuoka branch near Tenjin station before escaping in a white van.

The victim of the crime was a 29-year old salaryman from Adachi-ku, Tokyo, who was in Fukuoka on a business trip. He apparently works for a precious metals store and was planning on exchanging the money he withdrew for gold. He had withdrawn a similar amount of money at the same bank the day before and had notified the bank in advance about his plans.

The victim was attacked from behind with tear-gas while loading the suitcase full of cash into the backseat of his car. The thieves then made a speedy getaway in a white van, crashing through the exit bar of the bank parking lot. An eyewitness reported that they saw, "a man with long hair wearing a black hat," driving the van away from the scene of the crime, with a bank clerk running after the van yelling, "Thief!"

Police quickly responded by setting up a 155-man makeshift headquarters. The suspects' vehicle was photographed by speeding cameras near the scene of the crime, but there are no reports of the police having apprehended them yet. This is apparently the fourth largest amount of money stolen in a cash robbery in Japan since the end of World War II.

Source: Nishi Nippon Shimbun via Nijimen